Red Sun Rising
by Calai'di
Summary: Sequal to Secrets. Every secret is coming out...to everyone, including the Dark Lord. How will Harry and Draco deal with Voldemort and a Horcrux search when they can't even trust each other? sequal, SLASH, numerous pairings but mostly DMHP
1. Prologue: Crossing the Frame

AN: This is the sequal to _Background Secrets_. If you haven't read that, go read it, then come back here. This won't make any sense to you otherwise.

Rating: PG-13 (T), but it may go up

Warnings: This contains SLASH. That's boy/boy, and girl/girl. If you don't like it, don't read, and please don't flame me just saying you don't like it. That would not show you in a positive light.

Also, this has an insane amount of OCs. I promise you, none of them are Mary-Sues (I hate them too) but if you don't like OCs period, you won't like this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything with it. That's the sole right of WB and JKR. I do, however, own all of my OCs, and as I'll be using them in my books, please don't steal them without asking.

Also, a side note, the title of this fic comes from a line in "Higher than Hope" by Nightwish.

_"...Red Sun rising  
Drown without inhaling  
Within, the dark holds hard  
Red Sun rising  
Curtain falling  
Higher than hope my cure lies..."_

And the title of this chapter is from track five of Coheed and Cambria's _Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV Volume One_.

* * *

**Red Sun Rising**

**Prologue: Crossing the Frame**

The room echoed with the boy's pitiful screams. It was what he wanted, yet he hardly felt satisfied hearing them. The boy knew scrams were what he wanted, so he was giving them, and that took half the pleasure away.

"Stop, Severus," he commanded. Instantly, the screams ceased only to be replaced by broken sobs. Normally, that would have been even more satisfying than the screams, but it only incensed him further now.

"Leave us," he hissed to the dark haired man. Severus bow deeply and walked backwards out of the room. He almost smiled; at least _someone_ was showing the proper amount of respect.

He stood and slowly stepped down from his throne, enjoying the way the boy flinched away from him. It was amusing, seeing this boy so broken. He'd had such fire when he'd been initiated.

"You've disappointed me, Draco," he murmured, watching the boy flinch again. "Do you know how?"

"I-I couldn't kill him myself...my lord..." the boy whispered.

He actually smiled this time; so the boy did not yet suspect what he knew. He wondered why the boy had seemed only fearful for his life.

"No, you could not...but I never expected you to," he said simply. "Yet, you provided a way for my Death Eaters to enter the castle...

"You have already been punished for your weakness."

The boy tensed. He had expected him to; it was part of the fun.

"You thought perhaps a death sentence was in order for your failure? Had you already resigned yourself to death, young Malfoy?"

The boy was silent for a few moments, thinking over his answer, no doubt, so he wasn't completely stupid. "I would deserve no less, my lord," the boy said finally.

He smiled again, savouring the moment before he broke the boy completely. "You are correct; you deserve no less. You deserve far more."

He paused and leaned down to hiss in the boy's ear, "I know about your little affair with Potter."

He watched the horror, and then hopelessness, form on the boy's face with relish. This was, of course, no less than this traitorous boy deserved.

"Yes, I know all about that, Draco," he hissed as he stood and began pacing again. "You thought, perhaps, that you could hide it from me? I am Lord Voldemort; the world has never seen a better Legilimens."

"Then why don't you kill me?" the boy spat. He frowned; the boy had gone from hopeless to angry faster than he had anticipated.

"You are still very useful to me, Draco," he said calmly, drawing his wand. No, the boy wasn't stupid; the realization of what he meant hit him instantly.

"Fuck you!" the boy growled, staggering backward. "I'd rather die!"

"And you will, as soon as you are no longer useful," he said simply, smiling cruelly. "But for now, you are my one reliable link to Potter…or you will be once I'm through with you."

The boy's eyes fell to him wand and, rather than paling, he flushed angrily. "I'll fight you with every fibre of my being. If you knew _anything_ about me, you'd know that."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he hissed, pointing his wand at the boy. "I'll enjoy breaking you."

"Never," the boy hissed back. "I'll never betray him. I only joined you to protect him!"

"And you're welcome to tell him that you will now be his demise," he responded. "_Crucio__!"_

He screamed. He couldn't help it. He could feel the emotional and well as physical pain, though he knew logically he shouldn't. The curse wasn't pointed at him. But he could feel it.

"Harry!"

No, he could be screaming his name! That was like giving up!

"Harry! Wake up!"

The pain was fading. Did that mean he'd lost? Was Voldemort going to kill him now?

"Harry! You're going to wake up your friends if you don't shut up!"

He opened his eyes with a gasp, clamping his hand down on the burning scar on his forehead. He felt disoriented and shaky; it had been almost a year since he'd had a vision like that. Yet, he could hardly remember what it was about. He remembered feeling happy, though, much too happy.

"Harry! Are you awake yet?"

Harry shot up, whirling around to find silver-blue eyes staring back at him. He scrambled to grab his glasses so he could make sure he wasn't just seeing things, but no, it really was Draco standing there.

"Draco?" Harry whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I risk life and limb to talk to you and that's the response I get?"

"Draco..." Harry murmured disapprovingly. He did take time to look Draco over and was a little horrified; the blond had obviously not been treated well in the past couple weeks. He was filthy and his robes hung on his frame a little too loosely. Cuts and bruises riddled the skin he could see, and his pale hair was tinged pink in a few places. Worse of all, however, was the occasional subconscious twitch of his muscles that Harry was sure only came from repeated sessions under the Cruciatus.

"What happened to you?" he finally asked, looking back up at Draco's eyes and hating the slightly haunted look in them.

"You didn't think I'd get away with not killing Dumbledore myself without a scratch, did you?" Draco answered bitterly. "It was my job, I failed, and I'm being punished for it."

"What? Dumbledore's dead; who cares who did it?"

"The Dark Lord," Draco answered simply. "Anyway, that's not why I'm here—"

"Draco..." Harry interrupted, staring at him again. He'd only just noticed; he could see his window _through_ Draco, as though the other boy were a ghost. "How are you here? You're not...dead...?"

"Oh!" Draco looked down at himself for a moment, then grinned sheepishly back up at Harry. "No, I'm not dead. This is the surprise I've been keeping from you for years. It's a hologram."

Harry stared at him in shock. "You're kidding."

"I'm not. It took forever to figure out how to do it, and it's a really complicated spell, but otherwise I couldn't be here right now, could I?"

Harry reached out and passed his hand through Draco's body. His image froze and wavered for a moment before becoming clear again.

"That's amazing," Harry murmured.

Draco smiled faintly before turning serious again. "That isn't why I'm here, Harry. I have something extremely important to tell you."

Harry nodded once and he continued, "I'm not sure why I haven't been killed yet, but Voldemort says I'm still useful. There's no way I'm going to stick around I find out how. Severus and I have been working on an escape plan—"

"Why?" Harry asked bitterly. "Isn't Snape Voldemort's favourite now that Dumbledore's dead by his hand?"

"Well, yes, but you don't understand. Severus has always been on our side—"

"Yeah, right. That's why Dumbledore's dead."

Draco sighed. "Not Dumbledore's side, _our_ side. Yours and mine. Us. Our side. He's been doing his best to keep us together. Not that it worked..."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, extraordinarily confused. "He hated me before I was born. Why would he want to help me?"

"Because it helps me, and because he's a Slytherin. He thinks that siding with you is the best option right now." Draco shook his head impatiently. "But none of this is important right now. What's important is that I'm going to try to escape and I need I place to hide."

"You weren't thinking...here?" Harry said, gesturing at his junk-filled room.

"Only if I'm welcome," Draco answered softly. Harry had to look away from his hopeful bluish eyes to think straight, but even then he had trouble. Draco wanted to come here, to Privet Drive. Draco wanted to come back to him even after how horrible and completely unfaithful he'd been. Draco still wanted him.

"Of course you're welcome," Harry finally answered. "I just...I didn't think you'd ever want to talk to me again after...after how horrible I've been."

"You haven't been horrible, Harry," Draco chided softly. At Harry's sceptical look, he shrugged and said, "Well, maybe you have, but that's the way you are. I told you once years ago that your heart's too big, and since you've done nothing to correct that, I'll have to assume that's a good thing."

"I always wondered where your got all that sappy poetry from," Harry said with a smirk. "I guess from the same place you're getting this stuff."

"Touché," Draco replied. "Still, you better have dumped that Weasley bint, or I might have to go somewhere else."

"Don't call her that. And I didn't dump her; I told her we couldn't see each other anymore in case Voldemort decided to use her as bait."

Draco smiled in a very self-satisfied way. "Good. Then what are they doing here?" he asked, jerking his thumb back at the sleeping forms of Ron and Hermione on the conjured bed on his floor.

"They're here because they wanted to keep me company during the summer," Harry answered. His eyes narrowed slightly. "And if you do come, I don't want you to give them any trouble. I'll tell them to leave you alone too, but it only works when both sides participate."

"Fine, I'll leave them alone," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"And you won't care that you'll be staying in a Muggle house?" Harry asked, amused.

"I'm seventeen now; I'll curse them if they cause any trouble. I may curse them anyway."

"Draco..."

"Well, not if you don't want me to..."

Harry shook his head with a faint smile. He could hardly believe how much he'd missed this—the childish banter that they'd always had between them, just hearing Draco's voice in more than a sob. It made his heart ache.

"Actually," Draco murmured thoughtfully, a hungry gleam touching his eyes, "now that I'm seventeen, I can do a lot more things to _you_..."

"Which I _can't_ do," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm two months younger than you, remember?"

"Oh yes, I remember that."

Draco suddenly tensed and turned around to look at something Harry's couldn't see. When he turned back, his face was white and his eyes were wide.

"I thought I would have more time with you," he whispered. "But they never do leave me for long. I have to go now before someone wonders who I'm talking to."

"What's—"

"They're coming back to torture me, Harry," Draco answered simply. He glanced back again before rushing over to press a ghostly kiss to Harry's cheek. "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I have you to think about."

"There's a pleasant thought," Harry muttered, trying to lighten the mood, though neither of them even smiled a fraction.

"I'll see you soon, okay? I love you."

"I know," Harry whispered, looking at him anxiously. "I love you too...and I'm sorry, about everything..."

"Don't be. And don't you forget it. Wait for me." Draco gained a determined look and swiftly disappeared.

Harry stared at the spot where his ex-boyfriend had been for a moment, then quickly lay down when he thought he heard movement from his guests. Much as he tried, however, he couldn't fall back asleep again and lay staring at the wall, his gut filled with anger and hatred for Voldemort, until the sun's first rays crept into the room.


	2. Ch 1: The First Confessions

AN: This chapter is dedicated to all those characters who died in the seventh book who were never intended to die here, those who are intended to die here who didn't there, and those who are destined to die in both.

For the sake of HPDH, I won't give names. You'll just have to figure out who it is yourself, or wait and see.

* * *

Red Sun Rising

Chapter I: The First Confessions

Did he tell Ginny or not?

That was the question that had been haunting him for the past couple hours. Ever since Draco's visit, he'd been thinking over how sure the blond had seemed about whether or not he could escape Voldemort. Now that he felt Draco had been very sure and it was likely that he'd be getting his boyfriend back, he was unsure of whether he should tell Ginny about everything. After all, at the end of the school year, when he'd thought he'd lost Draco forever, he'd made it sound like they could get back together once Voldemort was destroyed.

Now, though, Draco held that spot in his future. Even if they were on opposite sides of the battlefield, he could no longer imagine a future without Draco in it. The blond might never know it, but seeing him had renewed the seed of hope in Harry's heart.

So Ginny was now officially out of the picture. Harry knew he would have to tell her sometime that there was no hope of them getting back together, but when was a different matter.

He jumped as Ron rolled over in his sleep and mumbled something incoherent. He stared at his friend's sleeping form for a moment before shaking himself mentally for being so jumpy. Ron couldn't hear his thoughts after all. There was no way he could know what traitorous thoughts Harry was thinking.

With a sigh, Harry rolled out of bed and stepped around his friends to his desk. He paused in a moment of indecision before sitting down and pulling a piece of paper and a pen towards him. He was not looking forward to writing this letter.

Several balls of paper later, he picked up his finished letter to read it over, hoping that it wouldn't get him killed.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I want to start this by saying that I do like you. I really do. I've liked you for a while now, and dating you was like a dream. Please remember that._

_However, there's someone else that I've loved for far longer. I thought I'd lost him, so I almost gave him up for you. But he came back to me and I can't imagine being with anyone else anymore._

_I'm really sorry, but we can't be together. It isn't fair to him or you. I know I made it sound like we could get back together in the future at the end of the year, but that was before I knew he was still mine. I do like you, but I love him with everything else I have, and I want to try to be more faithful to him than I have in the past._

_I know I may lose your friendship and trust because of this. I'm prepared for that._

_I hope you can find someone better than me to be with. I could never have given you everything while he was still around._

_I'm sorry,_

_Harry_

It sounded sappy and girly, but it would work. Hopefully Ginny wouldn't kill him or Draco because of this, but he couldn't risk Ginny thinking that she still had a chance. It was best to crush those hopes now rather than later when Draco showed up at his door.

"You coming down to breakfast, Harry?" Ron asked from the doorway. He and Hermione had gotten up a short time before and Hermione had already headed down to the kitchen with a slight frown on her face.

"In a minute," Harry answered, hastily folding up the letter. "I just need to send this letter first."

"All right. We'll make sure they leave some breakfast for you."

"Thanks." Harry sent Ron a nervous grin as the other left the room, than hurried over to tie the letter onto Hedwig's leg.

"Don't wait for a reply, okay?" he said to the owl as he finished. "I don't want you accidentally getting hurt."

Hedwig hooted softly and took off. Harry watched her go until he could no longer see her, then slowly headed down to breakfast.

It had hardly been more than a week, but already Harry was growing used to the changes his friends' presence had instilled. As both Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were terrified of what the two legal wizards might do if they did anything to Harry, he'd been allowed to do anything. He ate as much as he wanted at meals; he was no longer forced to do all the chores; he could sit in the sitting room in the evenings and watch the news. Most of the time, his relatives chose to be elsewhere in the house, so he hardly had to deal with them. It was like a real summer holiday for once. He almost didn't know how to deal with it.

However, one of the few times when he had to deal with his relatives was during meals, especially breakfast. Dudley could usually get away during lunch and dinner, and Uncle Vernon had begun to work later than usual so he often missed both those meals as well, but Aunt Petunia insisted that breakfast was the one meal they all had to be at together.

As Harry walked into the kitchen, he took a moment to look over the scene again. As soon as Ron had first stepped into the kitchen a week before, he'd lengthened the table so they could all sit at it. Currently, Dudley was taking up most of one of the longer sides, leaving just enough room for bony Aunt Petunia to sit next to him. Uncle Vernon was in the seat next to him on the end, across from an empty seat on the other end. Ron and Hermione had taken the seats across from Dudley and Aunt Petunia, with Hermione smiling pleasantly at the two. A fair amount of food sat in the middle of everything, most of it down at Harry's end of the table.

Harry sat down and hesitantly reached for a plate of food. His friends had insisted that he always be the first one to eat when his relatives were around, something he still wasn't comfortable with.

"So, er, _Harry_," Aunt Petunia started hesitantly once everyone had started eating, her eyes flickering nervously at Ron and Hermione. His relatives had begun calling him by his name shortly after coming home; Harry suspected his friends had something to do with it, not that he was complaining.

"What were you and your friends planning to do today?" Aunt Petunia asked, her gaze flickering to the two wizards again.

"Actually, Aunt Petunia, I'm not going to be here much," Harry said as he turned to look at Hermione. "I was thinking we could visit Knockturn Alley and Headquarters today."

Hermione frowned slightly. "Why do we need to go to Knockturn Alley?"

"I need to get that other Vanishing Cabinet from Borgin," Harry said simply, "before he ends up selling it to someone for a higher price than I got it for."

"You still haven't explained how you got it," Ron commented it what was supposed to be a nonchalant voice but failed miserably.

"I'll explain another time," Harry said hastily. It was true he had yet to explain how he'd come to own the second cabinet as well as any other questions his two friends had about the SG and his alliance, but he did mean to answer them eventually. He just couldn't think of a plausible explanation that didn't involve Draco. It had all started with him, after all. "I think only two of us should go, though. I would say only one, but I'm not allowed to Apparate yet, and I'd rather not get arrested right now."

"I'll go with you," Hermione said before Ron could open his mouth.

Ron blinked at her. "You sure?"

Hermione sent him an impatient look. "I'll be _fine_, Ron. When are we leaving, Harry?"

"Right after breakfast, I think," Harry said, though he was now looking suspiciously at Hermione. She seemed a little too eager to go.

Hermione nodded with a grim smile and began wolfing down food like she usually did when she wanted to visit the library before class. Harry frowned slightly as he returned to his own breakfast. He was seriously considering breaking the law and going alone now. He had a feeling Hermione was starting to figure things out.

* * *

"Do you mind if we walk down the street a little before Apparating?" Hermione asked as they stepped out the door, breakfast finished and both of them dressed. "I don't want you to get in trouble for my magic."

Harry would have protested, as both she and Ron had Apparated from the yard itself several times, and that it wouldn't matter anyway since he was the only wizard in the area, but before he could open his mouth, she grabbed his arm and started dragging him down the street.

Hermione dragged him on in silence through several streets. For the first couple, Harry tried getting out of her grip, but he eventually gave up as her grasp only grew tighter the more he struggled. Finally, as they approached Wisteria Walk, Hermione spoke words he dreaded hearing.

"I heard your screaming last night."

Harry cursed inwardly but tried to seem innocently confused on the outside. If she'd heard that, there was no doubt that she'd heard Draco as well.

"I was having a nightmare, I guess," Harry lied in what he hoped was a casual tone. "I don't really remember—"

"And I heard you talking to Malfoy."

Hermione stopped, let go of his arm, and rounded on him. Harry stopped as well, if only to keep from crashing into her.

"What was Malfoy doing in your bedroom, Harry?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry tried, though he knew it was a feeble attempt. "I think you must have been dreaming too—"

"It sounded like you were pretty friendly with him," Hermione interrupted shortly.

Harry hoped he looked incredulous enough. "With Malfoy? Definitely dreaming, Hermione."

"'I love you too...and I'm sorry about everything...'" Hermione quoted, and Harry winced as he recognized his own words. "Isn't that what you said?"

"Hermione, you don't understand—"

"What's to understand? You're in love with Malfoy!"

He would not cringe; it was not shameful, not at all. He frowned instead and straightened a little.

"So what if I am?"

"Harry, it's _Malfoy_! The bane of our lives for the past six years!"

"Only in public," Harry said before he could stop himself. Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Harry didn't answer. Instead, he stepped around Hermione and began walking again.

"I'm not done yet!" Hermione protested.

Harry rounded on her. "All right, I'm in love with Draco Malfoy and we've been having secret rendezvous plotting the destruction of the Wizarding world for the past four years. Happy?"

Hermione paled dramatically. "Four _years_?"

"Yes, four _years_. And it wasn't just us; you're welcome to ask the twins about it if you don't believe me."

Hermione suddenly gained a look of utter betrayal and it was all Harry could do to keep from wincing. "That's were you kept disappearing to." Harry nodded once and Hermione's face flushed in anger. "Had a bit of a laugh behind everyone's back, did you? How could you!"

"Hermione, I told you, you don't understand—"

"So explain it."

Harry frowned and looked away. He would love to explain everything, now that she knew, but they too much to do.

"I can't right now," he finally said. Hermione sniffed and he added hurriedly, "It's not like that! I want to, but we don't have enough time right now. We need to get the cabinet and go to Headquarters."

"You keep saying that, but you still haven't explained anything," Hermione accused.

"Because I haven't been able to figure out an explanation that doesn't involve Draco," Harry admitted softly. "He's at the heart of everything."

Hermione scowled and looked away, but seemed to be fighting with something inside herself.

"Hermione," Harry said, hoping she would listen. "Draco and I...we used to know everything about each other, as much as you and I and Ron do, maybe more. He knows about the Stone, and the Chamber, and the Polyjuice Potion, and Sirius, and my Patronus, and the D.A., and everything."

Hermione looked sharply at him. "How did he know about the D.A.? We would have known."

Harry shook his head. "I told him enough, before we signed the parchment, for him to guess what we were doing. The point is, Draco is my friend like you and Ron are. We've shared everything with each other."

"You can't possibly trust him," Hermione said, sounding disgusted that she'd been compared to Draco. "He's _Malfoy_; he helped kill Dumbledore! He nearly got _us_ killed!"

"I know about all that," Harry said, shaking his head. "And I know exactly why he did it. I would trust Draco with my life."

Hermione bit her lip and turned away.

"Listen," Harry tried again, unsure of whether he had anything else he could use to convince her, "Do you remember the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament?"

Hermione nodded silently.

"Draco was supposed to be my hostage."

Hermione looked abruptly up at him. "What?"

"Obviously that wouldn't have been a good idea, because of his parents. Professor McGonagall talked to me a couple weeks ahead of time and we both agreed that it would have been disastrous. But Draco was supposed to be my hostage, not Ron. I cared for him that much even in fourth year."

"More than your friends, you mean."

Harry sighed in frustration. "You don't understand how much we've both done to make sure no one would find out. That was only one occasion; there have been a hundred others. He joined the Death Eaters to keep me safe! He's risked everything for me, and I've never been able to do enough for him in return."

"He's still Malfoy," Hermione said, pleadingly.

"He's Draco to me," Harry answered softly.

Hermione was silent for several long moments before she finally whispered, "We should be far enough away to Apparate safely."

Harry shrugged, as it made no difference where they were—Mundungus had Disapparated from in front of his relative's house two years before and the Ministry hadn't cared. He didn't say so, as he knew Hermione was trying to change the subject, and merely nodded and grasped her arm. She turned away and drew him into the feeling of horrible compression.

When Harry could breathe again, he saw that they had arrived in the back alley behind the Leaky Cauldron where the doorway to Diagon Alley stood. Hermione silently took out her wand to tap the correct brick in the wall.

Diagon hadn't changed much since his last visit. Most of the shop windows were still plastered with purple Ministry signs, and numerous stalls selling useless or dangerous junk still lined the street. Hardly anyone stopped to chat anymore, and most people practically ran to their next destination. The only place that seemed to have changed was number ninety-three, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

The shop was, if it was possible, even more obnoxious than before. The "U-No-Poo" sign had been taken down to be replaced by what looked to be a dancing house-elf in a magenta towel-toga. The second window still held the display of eye-watering toys, though more had been added. A whole box of Wildfire Whiz-Bangs must have been let off, as the air above the shop was filled with fancy fireworks. However, much of this was covered up by the crowd of people inside the shop and the line that trailed out the door and three shops down the street.

"We need to find the twins," Harry suddenly decided as they stopped, like many others, to stare at the display.

"Why?" Hermione said, speaking for the first time since leaving Little Winging.

"Do you know how to get the Vanishing Cabinet out of Borgin and Burke's?"

Hermione frowned, looking annoyed rather than uncertain. "There's no way we can find them in this. It was nearly impossible last—"

"Harry! Hermione!"

Harry turned to grin at the familiar figure in magenta robes making his way toward them through the crowd.

"Lee! How have you been?"

"Well. You?"

"I've been better," Harry said, shaking his head, "but there's no time to explain now. We need to talk to the twins. Can you get us in?"

Lee's expression turned a little more serious. "Sure. Is it about You-Know-Who? We haven't heard from him lately."

"Sort of," Harry said as Lee started leading them through the crowd. "I have."

Lee blinked at him in surprise. "Have you? When?"

"Last night. Is that Fred over there? Or George?"

"Fred. Oi, Fred!"

The redhead turned and glanced at them, but was quickly swallowed up by the crowd. A moment later, he appeared next to them, grinning wildly.

"Hey, Harry, Hermione. Some cow's been asking for you in the Defence room, Lee; don't lead her on too much. How have you two been?"

"Fine," Harry said, amused, as Lee ran off to take care of the customer. "We need to talk to you about the cabinet."

Fred nodded and gestured for them to follow him. "We can talk in the back room."

He led them through the crowd to a door hidden perfectly in the wall behind the front counter. The room behind it seemed to be a combination workshop and storage room. When Fred closed the door behind them, Harry could instantly tell why he had thought it would be a good place to talk; the sounds from the shop outside completely vanished, like a Silencing Charm had been placed on the walls and door. Judging by what he had heard about the twins' inventing style, Harry thought he could understand why.

"Hermione knows about Draco," Harry said when Fred glanced curiously at him for allowing her to follow them inside. Fred's expression changed to one of shock.

"How?"

"He visited me last night, and she heard the whole thing." Harry shrugged slightly. "It's fine. I was going to tell everyone at the alliance meeting in a few weeks. That's not what I'm here about though. I need to ask a favour."

"Sure, anything."

"Come with us to Knockturn Alley."

He saw Hermione's head turn abruptly out of the corner of his eye. Fred blinked and grinned. "You're serious?"

"Absolutely. I could use all the help I can get. We're going to get the second Vanishing Cabinet."

"Are you sure you can?"

Harry smiled grimly. "It's mine now. Draco told Borgin to transfer ownership to me once the Death Eaters used it, and probably paid him a fair amount to make sure."

Fred nodded once. "Draco generally knows what he's doing. What do you need me for?"

"We're moving it to Headquarters," Harry answered. "I'm not sure how, but I figured if anyone could figure out a way, it would be you and George."

Hermione gave a slight sniff behind them, but once glance at her showed she reluctantly agreed.

"Well, I don't know if you can Vanish a Vanishing Cabinet," Fred said thoughtfully. "Might mess it up. Overload of the same kind of magic or something. You could try shrinking it, though that might mess it up also."

"If it breaks, I'll just ask Draco how to fix it," Harry said with a faint smile.

"Is he all right?" Fred asked, his tone a little quieter, with a shifty glance at Hermione. "We haven't heard from him in months. He was going to help us with a few of our potions this summer."

"Even though he's a Death Eater?" Harry said in surprise.

Fred nodded but Hermione let out an exasperated noise. "Harry, I know Malfoy was helping the Death Eaters all along, but I doubt he is—"

"He showed me his Dark Mark, Hermione," Harry said softly. Hermione gaped at him.

"Why didn't you tell anyone!"

"Would you have believed me?" Harry answered, shutting her up. "Besides," he added, "Draco was never really working for the Death Eaters. He's been doing what he's been doing to keep me and his family safe."

Hermione snorted softly and looked away.

Harry turned back to Fred. "Voldemort's holding him captive in a dungeon somewhere, but he's working on an escape plan."

"Why don't you ask Angelo to get him out? You can call him, right?"

"Yeah," Harry said, thinking of the two vials of blood under the loose floorboard under his bed. He felt rather stupid for having not thought of that possibility. "And I have Kiran's dagger. I'd rather use that; it won't run out."

"Harry—" Hermione started, but Fred interrupted her.

"We should do it now, before we go to Knockturn Alley. Here, follow me."

Fred gestured for them to follow him again as he headed toward the back of the room. He opened another cleverly hidden door to reveal a back alley, unpaved and filled with trash from the various businesses.

"I'm pretty sure you have to use actual earth for it to work," Fred explained, "and his full name."

"Thanks." Harry stepped out into the alley and pulled the Flame of Mortals out of his sock—the only place he could think of to put the dagger where it wouldn't be seen. Hermione gasped as the dagger caught the light.

"That's...that's...where did you get that?"

"Kiran gave it to me as a bonding item," Harry said, frowning slightly at her excitement. He unsheathed the dagger (Hermione gave another gasp), knelt down, and drove the blade into the ground with the ease of cutting butter.

"Kiran Azriel Erebos," Harry said, feeling self-conscious, especially when no one appeared for a moment.

Then a sound like the flapping of wings filled the alley and Kiran appeared, virtually glowing, in front of them. Hermione gasped for the third time, but he paid her no attention.

"This had better be an emergency, Potter," Kiran growled. "I was rather busy, and this won't make me look any better."

"It is," Harry said. "We need you, and maybe Angelo, to rescue Draco from Voldemort."

Kiran frowned slightly, immediately looking as though he would refuse.

"Please, Kiran," Harry tried, thinking it was just the problem of Kiran not liking him again. "I know you don't like me, but you liked Draco."

"It isn't a question of whether or not I like someone," Kiran said carefully. "I can't do it, and neither can Angelo."

"What?" Harry said in distress. "What do you mean you can't?"

"I'm not allowed, by the laws of my family, to interfere in affairs like this. Had Draco unwillingly gone to Voldemort, I could help him, but that isn't the case."

"You won't even try?"

Kiran frowned slightly. "It isn't something I'm willing to test right now. As for Angelo— Voldemort isn't stupid. He knows more than half the vampire population is on your side, and the number is growing. He's blocked all possible vampiric access to his headquarters."

"How?" Hermione suddenly spoke up; apparently, she was more comfortable talking to Kiran than Harry or Fred at the moment. "Vampire magic is different from ours. I didn't think you could block it without being a vampire yourself."

"Apparently, Voldemort's found a way," Kiran answered. "He knows more magic than most of us could ever dream of; he simply prefers the simple, crude stuff. There's no way for us to get in. Draco's on his own."

"You can't do anything?" Harry asked desperately. He'd allowed Fred to get his hopes with the idea that Kiran could help, only to be told that he really couldn't and they were no better of than before.

Kiran gave him what could have been a pitying look. "Potter, I do want to help Draco. When Draco first came to Hogwarts, Severus asked Angelo and me to look out for him, since Angelo was already rather influential in Slytherin. But there's nothing I can do. He won't be another Cedric. He's stronger than that."

"Cedric was strong," Harry retorted, "and look what happened to him. Voldemort doesn't like strong people."

Kiran sighed. "I'll see what I can do, Potter, but I'm not promising anything." He suddenly glared scathingly at Harry. "Was that all? I was in the middle of something rather important."

"Draco's not important?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Of course he is," Kiran answered, rolling his eyes, "but so is my life."

Kiran disappeared in a burst of feathers of light, making Hermione gasp again. Harry frowned and glanced warily at Fred.

"Was he serious?"

"I've never known Kiran to joke," Fred said. "It was the main reason he never liked George and me." Fred frowned slightly as he stared at the place Kiran had been standing. "Angelo mentioned he's in trouble with the head of his family. They've been making plans to live together, but his father put his foot down, since they're Hunter and Vampire. I guess the situation's escalated a bit."

"Isn't he of age?" Harry asked. "He could just do what he wants, right?"

"Kiran's family is...odd," Fred said vaguely. "You said Draco talked to you, so he's all right. We should probably do something about that cabinet."

"It was your idea to call Kiran in the first place," Hermione said incredulously.

"He just said there's nothing he can do," Fred said.

"Since when have you been sensible?"

"Since he was right," Harry said. It was hard to admit it, since he would love nothing more than to launch headlong into a rescue attempt. However, the attempt would probably get him killed, and Draco needed him alive.

"We do need to deal with the cabinet," Harry said as he pulled the dagger from the ground and re-sheathed it. "The cabinet is what we came for."

He felt as though something had broken inside him as he walked away from the thin slit in the ground that had held his sudden burst of hope for Draco. However, Fred was right; there was nothing they could do for Draco but wait.

"So," he said to Fred once they were inside the back room again, "what's the plan?"


	3. Ch 2: The Rose and the Amaranth

**AN: **So, I'm really, really, really sorry this is so late. I've had tons to do in the last couple months, namely college stuff (which takes forever and sucks). I HAVE NOT abandoned this fic or any other (that's listed on my profile). I refuse! They just might not be updated as frequently as we'd all like.

So anyway, here's a present to you all for Halloween! It's probably the longest chapter this fic will ever have, besides the alliance party chap. The next chapter should be out in a couple days, on the Day of the Dead. Thanks for not giving up on me!

Oh, and the original name of this chapter was just "The Amaranth" after the song on Nightwish's new album, but I thought the current one fits it much better.

_

* * *

A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden,  
and the Amaranth said to her neighbour,  
"How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent!  
No wonder you are such a universal favourite."  
But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice,  
"Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time:  
my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die.  
But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut;  
for they are everlasting."  
_-Aesop 

**Red Sun Rising**

**Chapter II****: The Rose and the Amaranth**

"I can't believe you're actually considering this!" Hermione exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how crazy it is?"

"It's not that crazy," Harry protested while Fred shook his head next to him.

"Harry, you're planning to just walk into Knockturn Alley, undisguised and unprotected!" Hermione said, staring at him incredulously. "That doesn't sound crazy to you?"

Harry shook his head, gesturing at the dagger now sitting at his waist. "The three of us can hold our own, Hermione. And if it gets really bad, we can either Apparate out of there or call Kiran again so he can get Angelo to help."

"That's it!" Fred exclaimed suddenly.

Harry and Hermione turned to stare at him. Fred grinned back at them, a grin Harry had only ever seen on either twin when they figured out where one of their experiments was going wrong.

"Regular Apparition doesn't work on big objects, right?" Fred said excitedly. "But you don't Apparate using wizard magic, Harry."

"I don't?" Harry said, surprised. It had certainly felt like it to him when he had Apparated with Dumbledore that June.

Fred shook his head. "No, you're bound to two vampires. You can use some vampire magic, now. You probably have been without knowing—"

Hermione gasped. "That's right! You probably Apparate like a vampire now!"

Harry stared at both of them, utterly confused. "How? I'm not a vampire."

"Blood-bonds don't just force someone into your service, Harry," Hermione said patiently. "It binds their magic to you too, for as long as you're bound together. You gain some of their abilities, a bit like with V-Voldemort and your Parseltongue, and you can use their magic, too. You could drain someone you're bound to of their magic if you really felt like it."

Harry gaped at her. Angelo and Sanguini had let him have _that_much power over them?

"I haven't noticed anything different with my magic," he said slowly. "And it feels like regular Apparition when I Apparate."

"You probably have to be thinking about it to Apparate like a Vampire," Hermione said thoughtfully, "or like Kiran. Oh, come on, Harry," she said exasperatedly when he looked at her sharply, "he's obviously not pure human. He doesn't Apparate like a wizard; that's a clear giveaway."

"If that's the case," Fred said loudly, clearly trying to steer them away from this conversation, "then it'll probably take practice, like with regular Apparition."

"I don't think we have that kind of time," Harry said.

"But that's definitely the solution...non-wizards Apparate differently than us, so they would probably be able to Apparate with something—"

Hermione snapped her fingers, looking thoughtful. Harry and Fred stared at her.

"Kreacher," she said brightly, snapping her fingers again. "House-elves Apparate carrying stuff all the time."

"Hey, that's right," Harry said, amazed that Fred hadn't thought of it. "You're a genius, Hermione. _Kreacher!_"

There was a loud _crack_, and the wizened house-elf stood before them, muttering under his breath as per usual.

"Nasty brat...calling Kreacher just as Kreacher would have shown that wretched Dobby...oh, what Kreacher's mistress would think..."

"That's enough, Kreacher," Harry said loudly, startling the elf into looking up at him.

"The young master called for Kreacher?" Kreacher said, glaring at Harry regardless of his semi-respectful tone.

"Yeah, I did," Harry said. "You're going to help me with something."

"Kreacher will do whatever Master wishes," Kreacher said, bowing low, adding in a mutter, "because Kreacher has no choice, because Kreacher is too valuable for Master to kill..."

"C'mon, let's go," Harry said, eager to spend as little time as necessary in the house-elf's presence. Hermione and Fred nodded, the latter giving Kreacher a viscous look for his constant mutterings.

They paused just outside the room for Fred to tell his twin where they were going (George looked most jealous), then headed out, turning left toward Knockturn Alley.

They made a rather odd group, Harry thought—the Boy-Who-Lived, Hermione, the co-owner of a highly successful joke shop rather than Ron, and a crazy house-elf trailing behind them. They would only look more out-of-place once they entered Knockturn Alley, not to mention they would be prime targets of anyone trying to get in good with Voldemort. And yet, Harry felt completely at ease as they turned into the darker alley. He felt that, somehow, they would not get hurt while they were here.

Hermione started muttering under her breath about what a bad idea this was halfway to Borgin and Burkes. The alley was not nearly as empty as it had been this time last year, and a fair number of people stared at them as they passed, one or two even daring to openly sneer at them. Dumbledore's death had done wonders for the morale of the Dark side.

Still, though he knew he should be on his guard, Harry felt completely calm. Behind him, Fred seemed to as well, as the twin only seemed interested in looking around in awe.

The bell rang loudly as they entered the shop. No one was behind the counter, but that was fine with Harry. He wasn't here to buy anything, after all.

"This is it, isn't Harry?" Hermione said, pointing at the cabinet in which Harry had hid in second year and had blocked Draco's Dark Mark from view the year before. It looked just like the cabinet in the Room of Requirement, if a little better taken care-of.

"Yeah, that's it," he said. He was honestly amazed it was still here. He had thought they would have to ask Borgin for it or that Voldemort had commandeered it. Either way, he certainly wasn't complaining. It just made things easier.

"All right, Kreacher, I want you to—"

"Mr Potter, what a...pleasant surprise. How may I help you?"

Harry turned to find Mr Borgin looking suspiciously at him, as though he had never guessed the Boy-Who-Lived might ever step willingly into Knockturn Alley, much less his shop. Then again, Harry mused, not many people would.

"I came to retrieve this cabinet," Harry said, gesturing at it. "I was under the impression that it was mine now. I need it somewhere else."

Mr Borgin sneered. "That cabinet belongs to a client of mine—"

"Draco Malfoy? Yeah, I know. He told me that, and he told me something else." Harry pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, one that looked worn and close to falling apart. He carefully opened it and began to read, "_As for the one in Borgin and Burkes—over the Christmas holiday, I bought it. I also told Borgin that the ownership of it must transfer to you after the first time the Death Eaters use it. So, it's probably yours now, if Death Eaters went through into the school. If I failed and they didn't, I'm sure you can buy it from me through Borgin._"

The other three wizards gaped at him. Harry calmly folded the letter back up and stuck it in his pocket again.

"So," he said, smiling, "since the Death Eaters did use this cabinet to get into Hogwarts, I'll be taking it."

"You have no evidence to back up that claim," Borgin said, clearly reaching. "I was not in the shop the night Dumbledore died, so I didn't see any Death Eaters touch that cabinet."

"Then I'll buy it from Draco," Harry said with a shrug. "Name your price."

Borgin licked his lips nervously. It was obvious he did not want to part with the cabinet—perhaps Voldemort had warned him to hold on to it so it could be used again. But Harry was determined to get it, if he had to spend every Knut he had or not.

Borgin licked his lips again. "That is a very rare, very priceless artefact, Mr Potter."

"I'm aware of that," Harry said.

Borgin's eyes shifted from Harry to the cabinet and back at Harry. Harry was suddenly reminded of how his uncle had acted back in fourth year when he had been faced with letting Harry go to the World Cup.

"I did make that deal with Mr Malfoy," Borgin said at last.

Harry blinked in surprise. Was Borgin actually going to be cooperative?

"So, if you can get it out of here, you may have it," Borgin finished, a wicked gleam flashing through his eyes.

Harry grinned back at him. "Thanks."

Feeling immensely grateful toward Hermione for coming up with the solution to this problem, he turned back to Kreacher, who had been suspiciously silent since they had entered the store.

"Master converses with Dark wizards?" Kreacher asked before Harry could open his mouth. His tone was not sarcastic or sneering; it was surprised, awed even. Harry was a little unsure of how to deal with this.

"Yes," he said slowly, "when I need to..."

"Master barters and buys Dark objects?" Kreacher went on, still sounding amazed.

"When I need them," Harry said, a little more surely. If he could convince Kreacher he was Darker than the elf had thought, maybe he would be a little more tolerable to be around.

"What would Master have Kreacher do?"

"Take the cabinet back to headquarters," Harry said. "We'll be there shortly, but we can't take it, and you can. And if Remus Lupin is there, tell him that we're coming. If he's not there, I want you to find him and tell him we need to do it today."

For a moment, Kreacher looked like he would complain. He looked like he wanted to refuse or curse Harry again. Then he glanced around again and bowed to Harry.

"Kreacher will do as Master wishes."

Kreacher walked over to the cabinet, placed a hand on it, and disappeared with a loud _crack_. The cabinet had gone with him.

Harry smiled back at Borgin, who was staring at the now-empty space in shock. "It was nice doing business with you, Mr Borgin."

"Yeah, we might be back," Fred added with the grin of a cat who had swallowed the proverbial canary.

"I shall remember that," Mr Borgin said, hesitantly bowing to them. Harry and the others had turned to walk out the door before he straightened again.

"That was amazing, Harry!" Hermione said as they left the shop. "How did you get him to give in like that?"

"I dunno. Maybe he just didn't want us in there anymore." Harry shrugged with a slight grin. "It's probably bad business to have the Boy-Who-Lived in your shop in Knockturn Alley."

"Still, I don't think I've seen Angelo act that cool," Fred said, cuffing Harry lightly on the arm. "You must have gotten something from him and Sanguini."

Harry grinned again. "Maybe. But that'll mean my temper's even worse; Angelo's like a tornado when—"

"_Stupefy!"_

"Duck!" Harry shouted, dropping to the ground and pulling Hermione and Fred down with him. Fred already had his wand out, and Hermione was reaching for hers.

But as Harry looked up, he couldn't see any spells passing overhead. Looking around, he noticed they were surrounded by two rings of people: the outer facing them with their wands out, and the inner turned away, protecting them. Between them was a hazy barrier that lit up when a spell hit it.

"_Death Eaters_!" Hermione hissed. Harry nodded, more interested in the wizards who were protecting them. Who would be willing to protect Harry Potter in this place?

Harry pulled out his wand, but one of the protectors turned briefly to him.

"Stay down," he hissed, his accent foreign. "The shield may not hold, and then you will be in trouble."

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

The wizard narrowed his eyes and looked to the figure to his right. "Get them out of here. We can do nothing but shield if they are here."

"Sure." The man shrugged and took a step back, letting his place be filled by another wizard. He grinned back at the three of them and jerked his head to side. "C'mon. Let's get you guys out of here."

"Oh, but—" Hermione protested, but Harry and Fred immediately jumped up to follow him. The man flicked his wand to set a shield around all of them. Harry suddenly noticed he was the only one out of all of their mysterious protectors holding a wand.

"Who are you?" Harry asked again, but the man shook his head.

"I'll answer questions once you're safe. C'mon."

He dashed out of the ring of wizards. Harry, Fred, and Hermione raced to keep up with him. The Death Eaters shot spells at them as they went, but the spells bounced off their shield, even one that looked like a Killing Curse. Harry heard Hermione gasp at that, and he didn't blame her; the Killing Curse was supposed to be unblockable.

The sounds of a real duel started behind them as they ran toward the entrance of the alley; their mysterious protectors must not have wanted to risk them being hit if the duel had started while they were still there.

The four of them looked back as they reached Diagon, when they began hearing cracks of Apparition. One by one, the Death Eaters fired as many curses as they could before disappearing. One or two of the other wizards Disapparated as well, but most stayed.

Hermione gasped beside him. "They aren't making any sound..."

Harry glanced back at them, startled. She was right. While the Death Eaters made the usual _crack_when they Disapparated, none of the other wizards made a sound. He had never heard of Apparating or Disapparating silently.

"Let's go to the Leaky Cauldron," their saviour said suddenly, flicking his wand to dissolve their shield. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Harry nodded, happy to oblige this man who had helped save their lives however he wanted. If that meant waiting for their questions to be answered, they could wait.

The man didn't seem inclined to speak at all as they walked, which was fine. Harry was too concerned with the looks they were being given. While no one ran up to them, almost everyone was now paying attention to them, which had not happened earlier. He felt very self-conscious and more than a little nervous. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to walk around without disguises after all.

As soon as they stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, the room fell silent. The man hardly seemed to notice as he walked straight up to the counter, where Tom the innkeeper was staring at them in shock.

"I'd like a private table," the man said. "We don't wish to be disturbed."

"O-of course, sir," Tom said. "Follow me please."

The whispers started as they followed Tom. Harry wasn't surprised to hear his own name, but he was surprised that he wasn't the only one they were whispering about.

"_The_ Harry Potter—?"

"—with Lorcan d'Eath! _The_ Lorcan d'Eath!"

"—guess all celebrities know each other somehow..."

"Here you are," Tom said, stopping at a table in the back corner, far removed from the rest. "If you need anything, I'd be happy to get it for you."

"I'd like a pint of type AB, if you have it," the man said as he sat down. "O would be fine, too."

"Yes, sir." Tom bowed and hurried back to the front, leaving Harry, Hermione, and Fred alone with the man.

He eyed them for a few moments before gesturing to the other chairs at the table. "Go on, sit down. We haven't got all day. I'm a very busy person."

They sat. For a few awkward moments, no one said anything. Then Fred blurted out, "You're Lorcan d'Eath?"

The man smiled, absently brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "The one and only. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out sooner."

"That makes sense, then," Fred said, sitting back. Hermione nodded as well.

Harry glanced between them before saying a little sheepishly, "I'm sorry, but I still don't know who you are."

Lorcan stared at him for a moment, but suddenly smiled and shook his head. "No, you wouldn't, would you? Angelo told me about how you grew up. Thanks," he said to Tom when the innkeeper set down a glass of red liquid.

"You know Angelo?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Angelo, Sanguini, Hamal...you name 'im, I probably know 'im," Lorcan said. He took a long drink, his eyes flashing red as he set the glass back down. "I'm a Vampire Halfling, one of the few Vampires the public knows intimately. I'm a musician, a singer."

"So all those people who protected us—"

"Were Vampires, acting on Sanguini's orders to keep you safe," Lorcan finished for him. The vampire fixed him with a look worthy of Dumbledore when he was disappointed. "That was a very stupid thing you did, Mr Potter. There are Death Eaters all over Knockturn Alley these days. One wrong move, and you're lost to the Light and our people."

Harry looked away, feeling ashamed in spite of himself. Hermione had warned him against walking into Knockturn Alley like that, but he hadn't listened. He'd forgotten how many people were counting on his safety.

"Anyway, I wouldn't suggest you try that again," Lorcan went on. "We've heard rumours that pretty soon you're going to be a very wanted man down in Knockturn Alley."

"That's all right, I won't need to go down there again," Harry said. "At least, not for a while. I'll plan better next time."

"Good to hear it. We can't protect you all the time, Mr Potter." Lorcan sighed, looking away at nothing. "As much as we'd like to."

The four sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes until Fred cleared his throat and said hesitantly, "Could I get your autograph? For my mum? She's a big fan."

Lorcan blinked at him but laughed. "Sure."

"How is Angelo?" Harry asked as Lorcan pulled a picture out of his pocket and signed it in silver with a flourish.

"He's pretty busy," Lorcan said, handing the picture to Fred. "He's trying to make sure he has influence in the Ministry right now. Haven't you heard from him?"

"Off and on," Harry said, shaking his head. "He hasn't said much, just that he and Bran are trying to head off Voldemort in terms of influence."

Lorcan nodded, sitting back slightly. "At the moment, we have a very delicate situation in the Ministry. Voldemort's followers are very quickly gaining influence and are very slowly taking over. We've been trying to 'head them off,' as you said, but it is difficult for a Vampire to get a position in the Ministry at all, and we have almost no influence whatsoever."

"You do," Fred interrupted. "You're a huge idol. People would listen to you."

Lorcan shook his head with a sad smile. "Not as many as you might think. I'm still a Vampire. How many people fawn over me and say they'd love to marry me, but secretly wish I'd disappear?. It's a sad fact that Vampires are hated more than revered no matter what we do."

He turned red-tinted eyes back on Harry. "What very few wizards are aware of is that there are a fair number of Psychic Vampires employed by the Ministry, and more are being hired every day. And no one can tell the difference from a wizard-born psi-vamp or a regular wizard, unless you're a Vampire yourself."

"That's great!" Hermione said. "They can help the Order in make sure the Ministry stays neutral!"

"The Ministry can't remain neutral," Lorcan said darkly. Harry shook his head in agreement.

"We need the influence the Ministry has to get Voldemort and his followers out in the open. Which is probably what Voldemort wants to do with us."

"Exactly. But even with the psi-vamps that are in the Ministry, we're loosing some very important contacts. Why Angelo is trying to do at the moment is get them back.

"It also feels like Voldemort is moving very cautiously." Lorcan smirked and nodded to Harry. "Undoubtedly because he feels moving against you too openly would bring the wrath of three Vampire tribes down on him. Which it would."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione suddenly gasped and grabbed his arm.

"We still need to meet with Remus," she hissed, almost too quiet for Harry to hear.

Harry nodded and gave Lorcan a sheepish look. "Sorry, but we need to get going. I have something else I need to do today.

Lorcan shook his head. "That's fine. I have other business today too. Actually," he said, glancing at his watch and suddenly standing, "I'm late for an interview. I just couldn't give up the opportunity to talk to you, Mr Potter."

Harry shrugged awkwardly. "It's no big deal. It's was nice meeting you."

"Same here." Lorcan held out a hand for Harry to shake quickly. "I'll be seeing you again. Tell your mother hello, Weasley."

"Thanks," Fred said, surprised, but Lorcan had already disappeared. He shook his head and turned to Harry with a grin. "Vampires are an odd bunch. Useful, though."

"Yeah..." Harry grinned at him. "Listen, I owe you. You really helped today."

Fred raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying goodbye, Harry? What makes you think I'm going anywhere?"

Harry blinked at him, surprised.

"I'm going with you," Fred said. "I haven't seen the real world in about a month; I'm going to skive off work as long as possible."

"Thought running a joke shop—with George and Lee—was your dream?" Harry said with a grin.

Fred made a slight face. "Not when I have to be cooped up inside for so long. Where are we going?"

"Headquarters," Harry said simply. Truthfully, he was glad Fred wanted to come with them. After hanging out with the twins so much before they had left school, Harry had missed them quite a bit in the last year.

"All right, then. See you there." Fred grinned, waved, and Apparated on the spot.

"Ready?" Hermione said, holding her arm out. Harry nodded and grasped it. He turned with her as they Apparated out of the pub.

They appeared in a familiar shabby square, which was even dirtier-looking than the last time they had been there. Number twelve stood squeezed between two of the Muggle houses that lined the street, visible to them because they had been privy to its existence, and looking completely uninviting.

Harry and Hermione rushed toward it, glancing around nervously to make sure they weren't seen. Once up the stone steps, Harry tapped the door with his wand and hardly waited for it to unlock before pushing it open himself.

They hurried inside, and as the door shut behind them, the lamps that lined the entrance hall sprang to life, filling the hall with flickering light. However, before they had taken a step further into the entrance hall, they were forced to stop short. Lupin had appeared out of nowhere, steadily holding a wand on them.

"Who are you?" he demanded. Hermione made a move to step back, but Harry determinedly stayed where he was, not intimidated in the slightest.

"I'm Harry James Potter, son of Lily Evans and James Potter. My patronus is a stag, my boggart is a dementor, and your boggart is a full moon, since you're a werewolf. You've been a werewolf since before you went to Hogwarts and the Whomping Willow and Shrieking Shack were put there for you to transform away from the other students."

"Hermione Jean Granger, Muggle-born, I was the only one to figure out you were a werewolf when you taught Defence Against the Dark Arts in our third year," Hermione said quickly, her eyes nervously eying Lupin's wand.

The wand lowered, and Lupin only had time for a brief smile before Harry had launched into his arms to embrace him.

"It's good to see you again, Remus," Harry said, grinning when Lupin's arms dropped around him. "I'm glad you got our message."

"And not a moment to soon," Lupin said, gentle pushing Harry off. "I only just managed to find someone who can perform the spell we need—"

"Couldn't Professor Flitwick do it?" Hermione interrupted.

"—And knows the location of this house," Lupin finished.

"Professor Flitwick doesn't know—"

"Filius is not a member of the Order," Lupin said with a shake of his head. "He has chosen to remain neutral until he is forced to choose a side, like most of the teachers at Hogwarts. Something they could do comfortably before Dumbledore's death, I must admit."

"They might have to choose soon," Harry said.

"They most definitely will have to, which one reason re-casting the Fidelius Charm is so important." Lupin gestured for them to follow and headed off further into the house.

The house seemed cleaner than it had been when he had seen it last, which surprised Harry, since he had ordered Kreacher to stay at Hogwarts. In fact, the house now had a somewhat lived-in feel, though it was still a lonely one.

"A few of us have been taking turns living here," Lupin said when Harry questioned this aloud. "To make sure Snape doesn't come back. He still knows the location."

"But he can't tell the Death Eaters where it is," Hermione said.

"No, but he can make sure none of us can use the house and that Harry has nowhere to live when he moves out of his relative's house."

They entered the kitchen. A man sat at the table twirling a dark wand between his fingers. He was far younger than Harry had expected, perhaps only two or three years out of school, and was what Harry thought Cedric might have looked like if he were still alive.

The man looked up when they entered and abruptly stood, though it was with the cool confidence that he knew he was supposed to be there. As he turned toward them, Harry saw that he did not really look like Cedric at all; his hair was much lighter, his eyes were a deep blue rather than grey. Still, Harry could not shake the feeling of there being a resemblance between them.

The man smiled and held a hand out to Harry. "Hi, I'm Constantine. Mr Lupin asked me to recast the Fidelius."

"Constantine is one of our contacts in the Ministry," Lupin said as Harry shook the man's hand. "Tonks recruited him last year. I've heard he's a magical genius."

Constantine smiled indulgently. "Yes, I've heard that myself."

"It's nice to meet you," Harry said.

"Not as much as it is to meet you," Constantine said. "Tonks has told me a lot about you, and Angelo when we meet up with each other. I'm glad you're in charge of the Order now."

"You know Angelo?" Harry asked in surprise. Was this another of Angelo's old donors? Then he started, because for the briefest instant, he thought he saw Constantine's blue eyes flash red.

"We all know each other in some way at the Ministry," Constantine said with a smile and a very slight nod, "and you are quite often the topic of conversation. It's an honour to meet someone Angelo thinks so highly of."

"How did you learn the Fidelius Charm?" Hermione asked, her eyes bright with interest. "It's an immensely complex spell."

"You're Hermione Granger, right?" Constantine asked, continuing when Hermione nodded, "The Muggle-born genius Gryffindor, I believe Angelo called you. It's an honour to meet you as well."

Hermione flushed, though Harry wasn't sure whether it was from embarrassment or pleasure that Angelo had remembered her.

"You're right, the Fidelius is immensely complex, though not as much as the other spells I'm going to be using," Constantine said. "You can watch, if you'd like. It doesn't make a difference how many people watch; only Harry and I will remember anything about it. You-Know-Who could be here and he wouldn't remember it."

Hermione nodded, looking excited at first, but horror quickly spread across her face as she stared at Harry.

"What it is?" Harry asked, a little frightened himself.

"Voldemort," Hermione whispered. "Harry, Voldemort can see into your mind; the secret isn't safe with you!"

Harry's eyes widened in horror; he'd nearly forgotten that, as the connection had been closed for over a year. However, he was not the one responsible for it being closed, and Hermione was right in that Voldemort could take a peak into his head any time he felt like it. From the grim expression on Lupin's face, he knew the older man must have forgotten that little detail also.

Constantine, however, smiled. "Angelo told me you weren't very good at Occlumency two years ago, so I came prepared in case you still weren't."

"Angelo didn't know I was studying Occlumency," Harry said suspiciously.

"No, but you were studying wandless magic, and the basics are the same," Constantine said. "And he said you weren't at all good at that, so you couldn't have been good at Occlumency."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione interrupted him, hissing jealously, "You've studied _wandless magic_?"

"I can't do it," Harry said sheepishly. "Just like I can't do Occlumency."

"You just never tried hard enough," Hermione accused, clearly still furious that Harry had been given the chance to learn something she hadn't.

"Harry won't need to," Constantine interrupted. "I made a spell that will have the same effect against You-Know-Who; at least, if he tries looking for the location of this house. It won't protect your mind from anything else," he added to Harry.

"That's all right," Harry said, shaking his head, "as long as he can't get here."

"Shall we get started, then?" Constantine said, picking up his wand from where it lay on the table.

Harry nodded, as ready as he ever would be. He waited for Constantine to lift his wand.

The man chose to start twirling it between his fingers again. "I need to you to think of a word or set of words," he said, "something that is important to you but that someone else may not immediately guess."

"What for?" Harry asked, searching his mind for something like that.

"The spell requires a password, so if it ever becomes necessary to end it, someone can, but obviously, you don't want it to be something anyone can guess."

Harry nodded, still racking his brain. With how well the media, and thus the populace, knew the details of his life, it was difficult to think of something few people would guess. He tried a different approach: what would be something he wouldn't mind his allies guessing? Something that Voldemort would never guess in his life...

Harry suddenly smiled. "Draco Malfoy."

Hermione looked aghast while Lupin stared at him in surprise.

"Are you sure?" Constantine asked, raising his wand. "Once I start casting, I can't stop or we would be extremely vulnerable."

"I'm positive," Harry said with a nod.

"All right." Constantine closed his eyes. _"Erado incantatem,"_ he began, flicking his wand up and over and down in complicated patterns even Hermione could only dream of memorizing, "_dissimulo solum intus Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore pateo absconditum__Gellert_."

Harry only blankly managed to wonder how Constantine knew Dumbledore's password before he felt a rush of magic pass over them. Something he could only equate to chains seemed to break and fall from his thoughts, had he knew suddenly that he could say the name of number twelve, Grimmauld Place out loud, and he could tell anyone he wanted. He also knew that Snape had probably felt the same thing, and would be rushing to tell someone, anyone.

"_Dissimulo Serpent Guard, Order of the Phoenix headquarters, at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London, England solum intus Harry James Potter vox vocis vis vires Draco Malfoy consto."_

Harry felt the weight of the chains appear again, though he knew that he could still say the name of the place if he chose. Next to him, he saw Hermione and Lupin suddenly glance around in confusion and felt immensely relieved; the spell had done exactly what it was supposed to.

**"**_Absconditumens occulos de Tom Riddle, de Lord Voldemort consto,"_Constantine finished, halting abruptly with his wand pointed straight at Harry's head. Harry felt his scar tingle, then nothing.

Constantine's wand slowly lowered to his side. Red eyes, usually blue, opened briefly before closing again as their owner collapsed. The dark wand clattered to the floor and rolled away under the table. Harry jerked forward, catching Constantine before he could follow. The man was dead weight in his arms, and much heavier than Harry.

"Remus! Help!"

"Harry?" Lupin said behind him, sounding immensely confused. "Where are we?"

"We're in the headquarters of the Serpent Guard and the Order of the Phoenix, number twelve Grimmauld Place," Harry said quickly, desperate as Constantine's unconscious form slowly dragged him down. "Remus? Help?"

"Ah, sorry, Harry." Remus rushed forward and took Constantine from him with little trouble. Harry crawled under the table to grab Constantine's wand.

"It worked," Hermione said as Harry stood up again. "It really worked. We're safe, Harry."

"Yeah. Will he be okay?" he asked Lupin, his eyes fixed on Constantine.

"He should be fine," Lupin said. "He'll just be asleep for a couple days. The Fidelius Charm alone takes enough energy to cast to knock the caster out, but three spells of that level? I'd be amazed if he wakes after only a couple days, actually."

Lupin shifted the body in his arms. "I'm going to take him upstairs. Can I have his wand, Harry?"

Harry set the wand in Lupin's open hand. Lupin gave him a brief smile before heading out of the kitchen.

"Do you have any parchment?" Harry asked Hermione, his eyes scanning the kitchen for anything to write with or on.

"I don't. What do you need it for?"

"Writing a note," Harry said. "There's probably some in the drawing room. C'mon."

Harry hurried out the room, Hermione on his heels. He sped up the two flights of stairs between the kitchen and the first floor, eager to get his idea down on paper before he forgot it. But as soon as he stepped into the drawing room, he stopped in his tracks.

On either side of the fireplace stood the dusty glass-fronted cabinets Harry had helped clean out two years before. Harry was not interested in the cabinets. He was interested in what was in them, something he had forgotten about until now.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered behind him, but he was not listening. He crossed to the cabinets and opened one of the glass doors. The shelves were all but empty; only one object remained, one that he had made sure to hide but was never sure he would see again. He reached to the back of the very top shelf and took down a crystal bottle of blood.

Hermione gasped, and he jumped. She had silently moved to stand behind him.

"I've seen that before," she said, pointing at the bottle. "I thought that got thrown out."

"Angelo suggested I keep it and figure out whose blood it is," Harry said, shaking his head, "so I snuck it out of the bag and hid it."

"You could easily find that out. There's a relatively simple potion for it," Hermione said, looking a little bewildered.

"Will you help me make it? I don't want to mess it up."

"Of course. Harry," Hermione said, giving him a patient look, "why do you need to know whose blood that is?"

"Because it gives me one more ally," Harry said. He slipped the bottle into his pocket, not liking the look Hermione was giving him. "Help me find some parchment and a quill. I need to write a couple notes."

"What if they're dead?"

"Then they're dead. Ah, here's some!" Harry laid the parchment flat and began writing careful to make sure his writing was legible.

He could feel Hermione's eyes on him as he wrote and tried to ignore it; he had an idea of why she was asking so many questions, but he wasn't sure what to tell her. True, he had never acted like this around her or Ron before, but this was how he was around Draco, so it felt just as natural. However, he had a feeling she would not like to hear that.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she finally asked.

Harry shook his head. "This is only something I can do." After only a few more moments, he set the quill down and collected up the two notes. "We need to go find Remus," he said, gesturing for her to follow as he headed out of the room.

They found Remus and Constantine in the room he and Ron had shared two years previously. Both were asleep, Constantine lying on the bed, and Remus slumped against it on the floor. Harry moved as quietly as possible to kneel down next to Remus and carefully placed one of the notes in his hand. The he stood and reached down to put the other in one of Constantine's. The action knocked another piece of parchment out of the man's hand to the floor.

Curious, Harry leaned over and picked it up. It wasn't a remarkable piece of parchment, only folded once in half, and was a little crumpled from being held. But as Harry turned it over, his eyes widened in surprise. His name was written on it.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked behind him.

"It's for me," he said, bewildered. He opened it, ready for something—what, he didn't know—but nothing happened. The inside was covered in writing, and his name at the top assured him that it really was intended for him to read it.

_Harry,_

_Let me start by saying that it's an honour to ally with you. I only joined Dumbledore last year so I night one day have this chance. You wouldn't believe how thrilled I was to hear that Victoria formed an alliance with you._

Harry frowned in confusion. How did Constantine know Victoria? From what he had heard today, he doubted Victoria worked at the Ministry or any other place where her race might be a problem.

_I am very close to Victoria—she is like another sister to me—so __I have wanted to speak with you since I heard that, but you're pretty difficult to find. Then Mr Lupin asked if I could perform the Fidelius and Fidelius Erado Charms, and I couldn't believe my luck._

_I am a Psychic Vampire. No one but my people, Angelo, and now you, knows this. I'm risking a lot by even telling you, but I think you need to know what allies you have. It's a dangerous thing for a psi-vamp to be employed by the Ministry, and there may come a day when they can tell what we are and won't allow it. Right now, if we're discovered, we're sent to Azkaban for fraud. No psi-vamp who has gone to Azkaban has returned alive._

_So, I'd like to keep the pretence of being a member of the Order, rather than the Serpent Guard, even at your alliance meeting in a few weeks. All of us who work in the Ministry will be taking that approach. I've heard rumours that the Minister thinks you'll be doing something for your birthday and plans to crash it. He may well succeed, and he is far more tolerant toward the Order than you._

_I am honoured to be the one to cast the Fidelius for you. I hope you will come to trust me as much as the others in time._

_Yours in life and blood,_

_Constantine Adfaer_

_Auror, Second Class_

"What does it say?" Hermione asked. Harry jumped; he had not noticed her move to look around his shoulder.

"Can't you read it?" Harry asked; after all, she was staring right at it.

"No, it's written in another language. I think I've seen it before..."

Harry stared at her, then back at the parchment. The words looked like English to him, even when he concentrated to make them look different, like he did when speaking and hearing Parseltongue.

"I know I've seen it somewhere..." Hermione said, biting her lip in thought.

"How can I read it if it's in another language?" Harry asked. He would have thought Hermione was joking about this if he had ever known Hermione to joke.

"That's the thing, isn't it? The only other language you know is Parseltongue, because of Voldemort, and it's definitely not that..." She frowned, staring a hole through the parchment.

Harry shrugged uncomfortably and stuck the letter in his pocket, ignoring Hermione's look of dismay. The last thing he needed now was to somehow know another obscure language.

"We should probably head back to the Dursleys," he said, hoping to get Hermione's mind off the letter. "Ron's probably wondering what happened to us."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "I'll look through my books to see if any of them say what that is."

Harry nodded warily and led the way out of the house. He was not so sure he wanted to know what it was. He had enough oddities to be getting on with.

* * *

"I don't believe it!" 

"Believe what?" Harry asked as he walked into the kitchen the next morning. Ron jumped and scrambled to hide the paper lying on the table, but Hermione snatched it from him before he had the chance.

"They're writing about you again," Hermione said grimly, laying the paper out at Harry's seat. "Well, _us_ again, actually."

"Us?" Harry questioned, looking down at the _Daily Prophet_ in interest.

IS THE CHOSEN ONE TURNING DARK?

_Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and __supposed Chosen One, shocked the Wizarding World yesterday by not only purchasing an unknown Dark object but also by fighting alongside Vampires in a scuffle in Knockturn Alley._

_This reporter was lucky enough to interview a witch who happened to see the event._

"_See, he came out of Borgin 'n Burkes," she told me, "him 'n that Muggle-born friend of his, what was in the paper a couple years ago, 'n one of them twins what runs the joke shop up in Diagon. 'N out o' nowhere, 'bout ten or twelevetwelve Death Eaters appeared around 'em!"_

_I asked how she knew they were Death Eaters. "I knew they was Death Eaters 'cause they was attacking the Boy-Who-Lived," she said confidently. "No Dumbledore follower would attack 'im."_

_Though I was sceptic, I asked her to continue._

"_The Death Eaters shot Stunners at 'em. Potter 'n his friends ducked, but they didn't need to. 'Bout fifteen Vampires appeared around 'em 'n blocked the Stunners, 'n any other spell the Death Eaters sent at 'em. Even a couple _Kedavras!_ That's what tipped me off that they was Vampires. Only Vampires c'n block the Killing Curse, seeing as they can't die. Then Potter 'n his friends escaped wit' one of the Vampires: Lorcan d'Eath, that singer. They was heading to the Leaky Cauldron last I saw."_

_Vampires have long been classified as Dark creatures by wizards. Their bloody mark upon history has been so dramatic that even Muggles are aware of their existence. Although they historically prefer to stay out of wizard affairs, they have been known to ally with Dark __Lords in the past._

_Were the attackers actually Death __Eaters? No one knows. That Vampires protected Potter from them is interesting and possibly alarming. Did the Vampires see Potter as someone worthy of being the next Dark Lord? Did they perhaps protect him so they might gain his trust and lead him into fighting He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, not as an adversary, but as a successor? _

_Or perhaps Potter already has an alliance with the Vampires and __the mysterious wizards who attacked him were not Death Eaters but members of the legendary Order of the Phoenix, seeking to take him out before he takes control._

_Certainly, this reporter will be eagerly awaiting Mr Potter's response._

For a moment, Harry couldn't think, or do much of anything else. He stared at the words on the paper, hardly believing they actually said what they said.

"I don't believe this," he muttered finally, echoing Ron's earlier statement. "They think I'm going Dark because a bunch of Vampires came to my rescue?"

The other two were silent for a moment before Ron said hesitantly, "Well, you know, it does look pretty Dark. It'd be like a bunch of werewolves protecting you. Hanging around Vampires is going to make people wonder."

"Wonder what?" Harry said angrily. "Whether I've gone completely mental this time?"

"They're going to start wondering whether you really do want to be a Dark Lord," Ron said. "You just...you don't get it, Harry. Vampires are...Vampires have loads of prejudice against them, way more than werewolves, but people don't even realize that's what it is anymore. It just accepted that they're dangerous and Dark, and that they wouldn't mind killing us off if they weren't too lazy to do it."

"Is that what you think?" Harry asked softly, knowing perfectly well that yes, that was exactly what Ron thought, but he wanted to hear the words come out of his friend's mouth nonetheless.

Ron sighed and shook his head. "I did, I really did. Mum really hates them. But since you told me about you and...and Haemon, and then we met all those Vampires on the train who seemed nice enough...I'm not sure what to think anymore."

Well, at least Ron was no longer being stupid about all of this, Harry thought. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to tolerate Ron's prejudice had it still been there.

"But everyone else is going to think you're going Dark," he added adamantly. "Unless you show them that you're not, and that Vampires aren't what people think they are, no one's going to take you seriously as 'the Chosen One' anymore."

"I can't just abandon them," Harry said. "They're counting on me. There's no way we'll be able to face Voldemort without them."

"We know that, Harry," Hermione said. "And I agree with you. This completely unfair!"

"Maybe," Ron started uneasily, "if you made your alliance party thing something public, so anyone could come, anyone who thinks your Dark can see you're not really."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Hermione said. "And you and Angelo could make some statements about how Vampire's aren't really bad at all! Werewolves too, maybe."

Harry frowned, remembering what Constantine had said about the Minister in his letter. If he made his party public, the Minister would probably but the first to arrive. Harry wasn't sure whether he wanted to risk that.

"Are there any spells we could cast to keep out select people, like Death Eaters?" Harry asked slowly.

"I know of a couple," Hermione said.

"And mum knows a few; she's had to learn about ten for the wedding," Ron said. "We only want blood-relative and invited friends to be able to come, and there isn't just one spell for that."

Harry thought about it for another moment before he nodded. "We'll have to tell the twins, then. They need to know to plan for half of Briton."

* * *

Lorcan d'Eath 

Heartthrob singer, part vampire, nineteen weeks at number 1 with hit song 'Necks to You.' JKR's Wizard of the Month for November 2006 (JKR).  
_Lorcan"little fierce one"(Irish Gaelic)._


	4. Ch 3: The Poet

**AN:** Yes! I'm getting this out when I said I would! I'm so proud of myself...

This chap and the next are sort of two parts to the same thing. So, they share titles. The titles to chaps three and four are from Nightwish's new album _Dark Passion Play_ track one: "The Poet and the Pendulum", which is an amazing song, btw.

**

* * *

**

Red Sun Rising 

**Chapter III: The Poet**

Harry glanced abruptly out the window, squinting down into the front yard. He thought he'd seen something moving, but after a few moments, he looked away again. In the faint light of the waning crescent moon and the shadows cast by the street lamps, it was difficult to tell movement caused by the wind from the movement of something else.

He took a look at the clock sitting on his nightstand. Eleven fifty-five. Only five minutes to go.

Ron and Hermione lay fast asleep on the conjured bed on the floor. He had not told them about his ritual of staying up until midnight the night before his birthday, waiting for the first moment he turned a year older. This year was especially important, because in four and a half minutes, he would finally be allowed to use magic outside of school, but it was still something for him alone. He didn't think it would feel as important unless he was alone.

He had also not told them the full reason of why they had stayed in Privet Drive for so long. Actually, he hadn't told Ron; Hermione already knew. After a couple weeks, Ron had started wondering aloud when they were going to leave and go to his parent's house or Grimmauld Place, or anywhere but here. Harry had just explained that if they left, he wouldn't be coming back, and therefore would no longer call the place "home" so his mother's protection would be gone. He wanted to stay for as long as he could, so he and the Dursleys would be protected for the longest possible time.

Hermione gave him knowing looks whenever he said this, because she knew he was waiting for Draco to show and would even after the protection was gone, but he ignored them. Luckily, Ron didn't notice.

He couldn't admit to either of them that he was also waiting for a letter from Ginny. The youngest Weasley had yet to respond, and Harry was growing seriously worried. He had hoped she would write to him while he was only around Ron, who would probably not take the news that his best friend had ditched his sister for a boy well, but would not throw him out of the house. If Ginny decided to rage about it while he was at the Burrow, he would have a whole mob of angry Weasleys on his case.

He did not want to imagine was Mrs Weasley would say if she found out like that. She would probably never allow him in the house again.

He glanced at the clock again. Half a minute left.

He wondered whether anything unusual would happen. Most wizards were probably asleep when they turned seventeen, so they wouldn't know whether anything happened or not. He doubted anything would happen, but then again, he had never been normal.

Twenty seconds. What was Draco doing right now? Was he unconscious, or was he waiting, just like Harry, for midnight to strike? Though it sickened him, he doubted Draco was awake.

Fifteen. His eyes were drawn to the lawn again. He was sure he had seen something this time.

Ten. Someone banged on the front door. He looked away from the window and back at the clock. Whoever had been moving out there was probably just a neighbour who needed help with his hosepipes.

Uncle Vernon grumbled and stomped toward the front door.

Five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One—

"BOY! Get down here!"

Harry started and fell off his window ledge. Wincing, he got to his feet and hurried to see what the problem was now. None of his relatives had called him anything but his name the whole summer.

He stopped dead halfway down the stairs. Uncle Vernon was standing in front of the open door, his face purple with fury. Standing in the doorway, looking as though he might collapse if he didn't have the doorframe to lean against, was Draco Malfoy.

Even from his place on the stairs, Harry could tell Draco was even worse off than when he had visited at the beginning of July. However, his feet did not seem to want to move forward.

"Well?" Uncle Vernon growled. "This freak was asking for you, said he's from your freak school."

That, more than anything, made Harry move. His eyes narrowed, and he leapt down the rest of the stairs.

"Don't call him that," he snarled, drawing his wand.

Uncle Vernon took a step back but kept the ugly look on his face. "Can't do anything, boy; you'll get expelled."

"It's past midnight," Harry said with a nasty smirk. "I'm seventeen now. I—"

"Harry..."

Harry turned to see Draco falling forward. He jerked forward to catch Draco, the momentum sending them both to the floor. Harry winced as his head collided with the wall but thankfully, Draco's had not. He hugged Draco as close as he dared, a hard lump forming in his throat when the blond did not even make a noise of protest. At least he was breathing. He wasn't dead.

There was a shriek. Harry looked over, expecting to see Hermione only to find Aunt Petunia standing there instead. His aunt was staring at Draco in horror, her hands over her mouth so she wouldn't scream again.

"Get him off my doorstep," Uncle Vernon hissed again.

"Vernon, look at him!" Aunt Petunia sputtered, her wide-eyes staring at him in disbelief. "We can't just—he needs help—go call an ambulance—"

"An ambulance isn't going to do him any good," Harry interrupted. He looked past Aunt Petunia at the stairs. "Ron! Hermione!"

He listened for a few moments and called again when he heard no movements. He didn't trust himself to Apparate alone with Draco in this condition, and he couldn't be in multiple places at once.

"Ron! Hermione!" he called a third time, feeling desperate.

Aunt Petunia let out a sudden sob. She spun around and, to Harry's amazement, dashed up the stairs and out of sight. The sound of a fist banging on a door and his aunt's shrill voice floated down to them and Harry felt a sudden affection for her.

The door to his room banged open. He could hear his aunt turn toward her room while his friends thundered toward the stairs.

"Harry, what's wrong? Your aunt said you—" Hermione gasped and stopped halfway down the stairs, staring at Harry and Draco with wide-eyes. Ron had already stopped several steps above her, his face blank as he stared at them.

Harry could only stare back, dumbfounded. Why had they stopped? Couldn't they see Draco needed help? Couldn't they see that obviously he needed their help or he would have already left? Why were they just standing there, staring at them.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Ron growled out, looking disgusted.

"Ron!" Hermione said, though Harry could tell she felt much the same way.

"You remember what he's done to us, Hermione! The slimeball deserves to be chucked out into the street!"

"I'll close the door on both of you if you don't _move_" Uncle Vernon hissed.

Harry ignored him, hardly believing what was coming out of his best friend's mouth. He had never thought Draco was that horrible toward them, except perhaps the "Weasley is Our King" nonsense of fifth year. No matter what Draco had done, he did not deserve to be left to die. And obviously he was...

Harry couldn't finish the thought.

"He needs help," Harry said. "He's hurt. We need to get him to Grimmauld Place."

"Serves him right," Ron said, though Harry thought he saw a flicker of uncertainty in Ron's eyes.

His heart leapt to his throat as he heard Draco's breathing slow.

"Hermione," he pleaded, "please. He needs help. He'll die if we just leave him. Even Malfoy doesn't deserve that. Please."

Hermione stared at him. Her eyes slowly moved to stare at Draco, then back at him. After an impossibly long moment, she sighed and dashed down the stairs to his side.

Harry smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you."

"I'm only doing this because of what I heard between you two," she hissed, pointedly only so Harry would hear. "I agree with Ron; Malfoy got himself into this."

Harry had expected that, but it still hurt to hear it. He looked back up at Ron, who was staring at both of them like he had never known them before. "Ron," Harry said, praying the redhead would help, "could you go ahead to Grimmauld Place and tell whoever is there that we're coming. And ask them to get McGonagall or Pomfrey? And Remus, if he's not there."

Ron didn't move. For a moment, Harry thought he might turn around and go back to bed. Then Ron glanced at Hermione and, with a look that clearly said he was disgusted with himself, he Disapparated with a _crack_.

"I need your help to Apparate with him," Harry said to Hermione. "I don't want to move him, and I don't think I can do it safely on my own. Is there anyway we can Apparate straight into one of the bedrooms?"

Hermione nodded. "The Anti-Apparition wards Dumbledore put up have probably dissipated. On three?"

Harry grabbed her arm and thought hard about the room he had always stayed in. "On three. One, two, THREE!"

He turned as best he could with Draco weighing him down and felt Hermione turn beside him as well. He felt terrified as they passed through the horrible compression and landed in the bedroom in Grimmauld Place. Draco's breathing had grown shallower and raspy.

"Hang on," Harry whispered, brushing Draco's hair out of his face. "I can't help you if you die. I can't help anyone if you die."

"I'm going to go get help," Hermione said, rushing to the door.

The door slammed open before she could touch it. Harry breathed a sighed of relief when he saw Professor McGonagall and Lupin framed in the doorway.

Professor McGonagall's eyes landed on them and he hand flew to her chest. "Good heavens..."

"Draco Malfoy? What is he doing here?" Lupin questioned, thankfully without an accusatory tone.

"He's dying," Harry said. "He came to me for help. Please, Professor," he added, looking to his Head of House. "I know he's been really horrible, but no one deserves to die like this."

Professor McGonagall eyed him, torn between helping one of her students and helping the person responsible for Dumbledore's death. She finally whipped out his wand and pointed it at Draco. A flick had Draco floating out of Harry's arms and over to the bed.

"I think you should wait out in the hall, Potter. I promise, no harm will come to him."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry breathed. He got up and took a step toward the door. Hermione rushed to help him when he collapsed; his body was shaking too much for him to walk on his own. He determinedly clung to Hermione and kept moving; he couldn't stop now; he had to get help from more people he knew would not question his desperation.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked when he started down the stairs, clinging to the banisters for support.

"Getting more help," Harry answered. Once down the stairs, he began digging through his pockets for the eagle Aaron had given him years before. After the event in Knockturn Alley, he had taken to carrying his bonding items with him at all times, in case he needed to use them. He had felt extremely vulnerable when he had been attacked and they were far out of reach.

He sighed in relief as he pulled out the small model, ruffled but alive. He wrenched open the front door and stepped out into the night air, holding the eagle out in front of him.

"Go to Aaron. Make him come immediately," Harry said to the model. The eagle stretched its wings and flew off, disappearing into the distance faster than Harry could follow with his eyes.

But he knew Aaron would not be enough. He was not even sure Aaron would be able to help, but the ex-Hufflepuff at least needed to know that Draco had come back to them. Harry leapt down the front steps and tugged Kiran's dagger from his belt.

He knelt in the grass of the square and drove the dagger into the ground. He waited patiently for a moment, then several figures appeared in Kiran's usual rush of light and sound. There was Kiran and, to his surprise, Angelo, and a woman with a small child on her hip whom Harry did not immediately recognize.

"Thank Drakul," Angelo breathed as Harry pulled the dagger from the ground and stood. "Kiran said you had called him but we did not expect to meet you."

"What's going on?" Harry asked, glancing between them. As the woman shifted nervously, Harry suddenly realize where he had seen her before. He couldn't think of why he had missed it before. "I thought it was too dangerous for Dom to come anywhere near me. Not that it isn't great to see you," he added to Dominique.

She merely smiled and shook her head.

"We cannot talk here; we must get inside," Angelo said quickly. "They might be following us."

Harry nodded. "It's number twelve, Grimmauld Place," he said to Dominique; Angelo and Kiran already knew the houses location, as he had told them along with many of his other allies weeks ago.

"Thank you, Harry," Angelo said, guiding Dominique forward to the house. Kiran moved to follow them, but Harry grabbed his arm.

"I need you to go get the Weasley twins," Harry said, relieved that he could send someone to get them rather than going himself like he had originally planned. "Both of them. Draco's here, but he's hurt, and I need everyone I can to help him."

"Draco's here?" Kiran said, surprised.

"Yes, and he needs all the help he can get. The twins have had to heal themselves for years; I need their help."

Kiran opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to rethink it. "How badly hurt?" he finally asked.

"Enough that he should go to St. Mungo's," Harry said, "but we can't risk it. He'll get arrested if we take him there."

Kiran nodded and disappeared without another word in a burst of light feathers. Harry sheathed the dagger and turned to go back inside, but stopped short. Hermione stood in the doorway, a funny expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, immediately concerned.

Hermione blinked and shook her head. "It's nothing. You should probably come back inside. Dominique's causing quite a stir."

"That's right, I need to find out what happened!" Harry thanked her and dashed inside. As soon as he stepped into the house, he heard raise voices coming from the drawing room and ran to investigate.

He paused when he entered the room, not that he had much choice. Angelo was standing just inside the door, blocking much of Harry's view of the room. What he could hear, however, told him that Mrs Weasley, Lupin, and Dominique were there too, and that told him enough.

But when he looked around Angelo's shoulder, he did not expect to see Mrs Wealsey holding Dominique and her child at wand point.

"What's going on?" Harry asked as he stepped out from behind Angelo. Everyone but Angelo looked at him in surprise.

"Mrs Weasley believes Dominique is a Death Eater," Angelo said, his eyes red with fury.

Harry had never thought he would be angry with Mrs Weasley, but that made him rethink it. "Put your wand down, Mrs Weasley. Dom is one of my allies."

"She can't be trusted," Mrs Weasley said, not moving.

"What makes you think that?"

"She's married to a Death Eater," Mrs Weasley said. "Are we allying with them now?"

"My husband is being tortured to insanity right now," Dominique said coldly; Harry admired her for being so calm when faced with Molly Weasley's wand. "He will be dead by sunrise. If I go home, my daughter and I will be killed as well."

Mrs Weasley pursed her lips, clearly touched as a fellow mother, but still did not lower her wand. Angelo narrowed his eyes and tensed as though to strike. Harry placed a light hand on his arm to calm him.

"Lower your wand, Mrs Weasley," he said coldly. "I will not have my allies fighting one another."

Then he stepped around Angelo and stood before Dominique, right in the path between her and Mrs Weasley's wand. He blinked in surprise; he was now a little taller than her and could look straight into her eyes.

"You've grown," Dom said, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "You're not a scrawny runt anymore."

"And you have only gotten prettier," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "My house is open to you whenever you need it."

Dominique smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Harry."

"And Draco's here too, but he's unconscious—"

"_Draco?"_ Ron sputtered, alerting Harry to his presence for the first time. Harry glanced at him with burning eyes.

"Yes, _Draco_. He's my guest, just like Dom and Angelo and the others. You don't have to call him that, but I will." His gaze shifted to Mrs Weasley. "Half my allies from the Serpent Guard were in Slytherin. Any one of them could be a Death Eater. I trust all of them."

Mrs Weasley finally lowered her wand, though she looked thoroughly disgusted with herself.

"Angelo, could you help Dom and..." he glanced questioningly to Dominique.

"Michelle," Dominique said with a faint smile.

"...Dom and Michelle find a room?" Harry finished. "You're welcome to visit Draco, too. He'll probably appreciate it when he wakes up."

"Thank you again, Harry." Dominique pressed a light kiss to his cheek and moved into Angelo's arms as the two of them left the room.

Harry looked back at the rest of the group, his cold fury returning in full force. "It's late, I haven't slept, and a lot has happened. Let's go the bed and talk about all this in the morning."

"What is there to talk about?" Ron asked. "You're only helping Malfoy because he's hurt and came to you for help, right?"

"We'll talk in the morning," Harry repeated with a slight wince. "I need to go see if Kiran's back, and if Aaron's here, and how Draco's doing. It was nice seeing you again, Mrs Weasley."

He turned to leave and ran straight into a warm chest. Looking up, he saw that the chest belong to Aaron. Behind him in the hall stood the twins and Kiran, all four of them looking more serious than Harry could have believed possible.

"Where's Draco?" George asked.

"Not you too!" Ron groaned, but Harry ignored him.

"Down the hall, c'mon." Harry stepped past them and out into the hall. He could barely bring himself to look at Draco when he entered the room, only looking up when he heard Angelo and Dominique talking to Professor McGonagall.

The three of them glanced over as soon as they walked into the room.

"Well, Potter," Professor McGonagall said with a tone to her voice Harry had never heard deliver good news, "I've managed to stabilize him and put him into a magical coma so he won't get any worse. I still feel it would be best if we got him the help of someone who actually knows what she's doing."

"I won't take him to St. Mungo's," Harry said firmly. "I'd be willing to let Madam Pomfrey come, and I got the twins to come see if they could help."

Fred and George grinned and waved amicably to their old Head of House.

Professor McGonagall eyed them dubiously but nodded to Harry. "I will ask Poppy if she will come. Do you have a note with the address?"

"Remus should have the one I wrote for the Order," Harry said. Professor McGonagall nodded grimly and strode out of the room.

Harry moved to Draco's bedside, finally staring down at him. Draco's breathing was even and slow, and much of the blood that had clung to his skin had been cleaned off. A few of the older bruises and shallower cuts were gone too, but a bandage was now wrapped around his head and his robes were still as torn and dirty as before.

"How did this happen?" Angelo whispered at his shoulder.

"Voldemort's been torturing him for the last month," Harry said. He wanted to look away but was half afraid something would happen if he did.

"We are very lucky he is alive," Angelo said. "He is severely injured, bleeding internally, and would probably have gone into a coma even if Professor McGonagall had not put him into one. If he were not a wizard, he would be dead."

Dominique made a sudden move and grabbed Angelo's arm. "You will need a room here too, won't you? Let's go pick one out."

Angelo turned to look at her, his eyes red with bloodlust and anger.

"I would like to stay," Angelo said softly. "I want to—"

"Actually, I think that's a great idea," Harry said loudly, startling the vampire. "I'd like you to stay nearby until he's a little better, if that's alright."

Angelo stared at him for a moment and ducked his head with a smile. "I would stay even if you had not asked. I will need a room without windows," he said to Dominique as he followed her out of the room. Kiran glanced at Draco and headed after them.

"Kiran didn't say he was this bad," George said.

"Kiran didn't know how bad it was," Harry said, kneeling down beside Draco's bed. "I didn't know until now..."

"He won't be in danger as long as he is in this coma," Aaron said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I trust McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey and Fred and George. I don't think you could have better people helping him."

"Yeah, he'll be all right," Fred said. "He's got you to fight for, after all."

Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"We'll go talk to mum and Ron. You get some sleep," George said.

Harry nodded again, not really hearing them. He waited for the three of them to leave before getting up to shut the door. He almost didn't make it back to Draco's side before everything that had happened caught up with him and his exhaustion and he passed out.


	5. Ch 4: The Pendulum

**Red Sun Rising**

**Chapter IV: The Pendulum**

Harry woke to yelling. That wasn't unusual in this house, since Mrs Black was hardly quiet for a whole day at a time. It was, however, unusual to hear Angelo's voice raised so frequently unless Umbridge was around. With a quick check on Draco, who looked the same as before, he raced downstairs to see what the problem was.

Mrs Black was screaming as usual, as were Mrs Weasley, Ron, and Angelo, whom he had heard all the way upstairs. What they were yelling about was clear as soon as he left the stairs, for Kiran had Ginny pinned against the wall of the front hall by her neck. Thankfully, Kiran was only keeping her there and not choking her, though Harry suspected that was only because Angelo was fighting with him about it and he was distracted. Harry felt the beginnings of dread form in his stomach as Ginny's eyes flashed in his direction.

"Let her go, Kiran," Harry commanded, loud enough to be heard. Immediately, Kiran's hand opened and released Ginny from the wall. Ginny's eyes burned as she stalked toward him.

_Smack!_

The room fell silent. Harry winced as he reached up to touch his stinging cheek. He suddenly felt rather sorry for what Draco had gone through in third year.

Ginny lowered her hand. "You _bastard_! How could you!"

Harry stared at her in shock. He had known she would be upset, but he'd thought she might keep it just between the two of them.

"Was it all just a joke to you?" she demanded. "I waited _years_ for you to realize, and you never even cared!"

"No, Ginny, I did, that's what I tried to tell you—"

"Who is he?"

He stared at her, unable to believe it might come out like this. "Ginny, you don't—"

"Who stole you from me?" she demanded, tears forming in her eyes. "You were mine first! Who could have possibly been better?"

"Ginny, it's not like that—"

"Who. Is. It?"

He looked at her for a long moment. He hated himself for bringing them to this. If only he had kept quiet, maybe she would have found someone she liked more than him and they could have forgotten about all this.

He looked away and caught a nod from Angelo. With a sigh, hating what was about to do, he whispered, "Draco Malfoy."

At first, no one made a sound. He knew that wouldn't last.

"What!" Ginny finally shrieked.

"_Malfoy__!"_ Ron yelled.

"I'm in love with Draco Malfoy," Harry said, feeling a little more confident this time. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I always have been. I do care for you, Ginny, and last year when I thought Draco and I would split up for good, I thought it would work between us. But Draco is the one I want to spend my life with."

Again, the room was silent except for Mrs Black's screams. Harry saw Angelo smile and nod out of the corner of his eye. Ginny must have seen it too, because she suddenly rounded on the Vampire.

"You did this," she said lowly. "The Harry I know hates Malfoy and loves me! Only a Slytherin, and a Vampire at that, could cast a Confundus this powerful!"

"You have never known Harry," Angelo said calmly, his eyes red like they probably had been for the last several hours. "You have always only known the Harry he wanted you to see. Harry is a true Slytherin to hide so well among the lions."

"So, what, the Serpent Guard is really a bunch of junior Death Eaters and Harry's You-Know-Who's best friend?" Ron said, looking outraged and close to believing it.

"I know him!" Ginny protested. "Better than you ever could!"

Angelo's red eyes flashed dangerously. "I don't doubt it, because we are very alike, Weasley. Always watching and loving him from afar, but afraid to step in when he's in trouble or hurting, because you think he might reject you. Yes, I know the feeling very well."

Ginny flinched and glared at him with undisguised disgust.

"Why would I confound Harry into believing he cares for Draco? I would just make him believe he loves me, like you have been thinking for the past several minutes. Oh yes," Angelo sneered at Ginny's shocked look, "I can see all your little secrets. We are very alike, Miss Weasley. However, I did not object when he told me he was dating you, though I disapproved. Will you be as understanding?"

"You can't possibly love him like I do, either of you!" Ginny exclaimed. "You're—"

"Male?" Kiran finished for her, pressing a light kiss to Angelo's neck. His eyes flashed menacingly at her over Angelo's shoulder. "That means nothing."

"It's disgusting," Ron spat. "Harry likes girls. He's fawned over girls like the rest of us, haven't you, Harry?"

Thinking back, Harry could not think of a time when he had faced anything more frightening than looking at Ron in that moment and telling him the truth again.

"I love Draco, Ron," he said, looking away when his friend's expression shattered into disbelief. "I loved Cedric, and I feel very strongly for Angelo." He felt Angelo's intense gaze fix onto him but ignored it for Ginny. "I also love you, Ginny," he said to the girl. "Just, not quite in the same way as Draco."

Ginny stared at him for a long moment. Finally, her hand rose and collided with his cheek again. Before he had time to recover, she was running out of the room, her face in her hands. Mrs Weasley shot Harry a disgusted look and hurried after her.

Harry closed his eyes, feeling horrible. He had known it was unlikely that Ginny would understand, but he had not wanted to make a scene, and he had really hoped she would take it better than this.

He looked up to see how Ron was doing with this new information. Not well, he figured. Ron's face was as red as his hair and not with embarrassment.

"You're a right git, you know that! She was really cut up when you ended it, and now you spring this? And you don't even want to know what I think about this!"

"Oh yeah?" Harry said, his temper rising. Ginny he could deal with; Ron he wasn't sure he could. "Let's say I do. What do you think?"

"I think I can't trust you anymore," Ron said darkly.

Harry almost took a step back, feeling the words as strongly as if Ron had punched him in the gut. Disgust and hatred he had expected, but not that. Never that.

"What?" he said softly.

"You kept all this—" Ron gestured at Kiran and Angelo— "secret from us, for years it sounds like, and now Malfoy! He's a _boy_, Harry!"

"I know that," Harry snapped.

"And he's a bloody bastard, and a Death Eater, and _male_—"

"And he's my fiancé," Harry said, whether it was true or not, stopping him dead in his tracks. "He is a Death Eater, but only because he was forced. He has been a git to you, but you could have just ignored him! I love him, and I trust him with my life."

"How can you defend him!" Ron exclaimed. "He killed Dumbledore!"

"_Snape_ killed Dumbledore!" Harry snapped. "If Draco hadn't joined the Death Eaters, he and his family would have been killed and I probably would have joined them!"

"Are you listening to yourself? You sound like a Slytherin!"

"I _am_ a Slytherin!" Harry blurted. His eyes widened and he clamped a hand over his mouth, but the damage had been done. Ron gaped at him.

"What are you talking about?"

Harry sighed and dropped his hand. "The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. I was only in Gryffindor because I asked it not to."

Ron blanched and started backing away. "You really are going Dark. I should have known months ago."

"No, Ron, you don't understand—"

"I have to make sure my sister's alright. Don't expect me back here, _Lord Potter_," Ron sneered. He bolted from the room before Harry could say anything else.

Harry felt a hand touch his shoulder. He shrugged it off and stalked from the kitchen. He needed to check on Draco and mourn the loss of one of the few people that had always been there for him.

* * *

The twins and Madam Pomfrey were already busy in Draco's room when Harry stepped inside. Only George paused, and it was only for a moment to give him a sympathetic glance. Somehow, that just made him feel worse. 

But he was thankful that they weren't throwing him out, like Madam Pomfrey was want to do. He wasn't sure if he could handle leaving Draco for more than a few minutes now that he was safe. He already felt like he had completely failed in keeping the blond safe, even though he knew there was nothing he could have done.

He climbed onto the bed across from Draco's and leaned over against the wall With a last glance at Draco, he pulled his knees to his chest and hid his face in them, perfectly content to stay like that until someone told him the world hadn't just decided to screw him over.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been there before he felt another weight sit on the bed. He didn't look up. He didn't really care who it was.

"You did not have to lie to them."

Harry shifted a little to look at Angelo out of the corner of his eye. The vampire wasn't looking at him, but he wasn't looking away from him either. It struck Harry that it was very odd to see Angelo so awkward.

"I didn't lie," Harry murmured.

Angelo's eyes flickered over at him. Harry wasn't surprised to see that he they were hazel again. He suspected Kiran had something to do with it.

"I don't understand."

"I meant what I said," Harry said, raising his head a little. "I love Draco. That won't change. I feel very strongly for Ron and Hermione too, because they're my best friends. But after them, it's you."

Angelo smiled faintly. "You made it sound differently."

"I meant to."

If Angelo was surprised, he didn't show it. Rather, he gracefully stood and held a hand out to Harry. "Come, you must be hungry."

"I'm not," Harry said, ready to curl back into his sulky position.

But Angelo didn't move except to smile. "I think you should eat something anyway. It would not be good for you to collapse and need medical attention as well.

Harry eyed him curiously; it wasn't often that Angelo was so forward. Usually it was only if there was something else going on. He looked past the Vampire to the rest of the room; only Madam Pomfrey was bustling around. Fred and George had vanished.

"What's going on?" Harry asked suspiciously as he took Angelo's hand. Angelo shrugged and pulled him to his feet.

"Nothing. You have just been up here for a while, and you have not eaten. I thought you might be hungry, and you should eat something even if you are not."

"I think there's something else," Harry said, following him out of the room.

"I see no reason why you should think that," Angelo said, though he was smiling playfully now.

"Is it the alliance meeting?" Harry asked, suddenly worried. "I don't think that's such good idea right now. I mean, I guess we can't send everyone home if they're already there—"

"It is not the alliance meeting," Angelo said, shaking his head. "I asked the twins about that this morning. They told me they had been planning to send invitations out today until Draco arrived."

Harry scowled at him for being so difficult, but Angelo only smiled again and gestured for him to go ahead down the stairs to the kitchen.

The kitchen was dark. Harry glanced curiously back at Angelo, but the Vampire only silently gestured him forward again. Curious, Harry stepped into the dark room. The lights flickered on.

"SURPRISE!"

Harry jumped back, running into Angelo, his eyes wide as he looked around the room. The kitchen was full of people, and the only ones there who had not been in the original SG were Hermione and Lupin. As he looked around, he saw that the entirety of the SG from school was there, including people to whom he was sure he had not told the address of the house.

But he only had a couple seconds to take it all in before his arms were full of a bubbly, bouncing mass of golden curls, knocking his back into Angelo again.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Gabrielle squealed, hugging him so tight he could hardly breathe. "You have a really nice house, by the way. Can I stay here too?"

"I think he needs to be able to breathe to answer that, Gabi," Dominique murmured next to them. Gabrielle let go instantly only to grab his hands instead.

"So, can I, Harry?"

"Sure," Harry said with a laugh, glad to see the Gabrielle was back to her usual, chipper self.

"Thank you, Harry!" Gabrielle squealed, hugging him again. This time, though, it was short, and a moment later she bounced away to bug Kiran, who was cooking something on the stove.

Harry looked around again, only now noticing the presents and covered dishes piled on every available flat surface and the green and gold streamers and balloons all over every other surface. "What is all this?"

"We thought you could use a chance to relax," Fred said with a grin.

"You know, after all the mad stuff that's happened over the past day," George added.

"With Ron being such a git and the meeting being postponed—"

"A party sounded like a good idea."

"A party sounds like a great idea," Harry agreed with his own grin. "And it's great seeing you guys again. All of you. I was just a little too rushed to say it before."

"Don't worry about it," Fred said, waving it off. "You and Draco are like family to us."

"Well, technically, Draco _is_ family," George reminded him. "We're related to him through marriage."

"Eh, technicalities." Fred wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and dragged him further into the kitchen. "You just need to worry about having fun and opening your presents."

"Open my first, Harry!" Gabrielle said, bouncing up to him and holding out a large, brightly wrapped box. "It's from me and Dom, but mostly just me 'cause I had the idea and picked him out."

"Him?"

Harry took the box. It shifted a little in his hands. Curious, Harry set it on a chair and started pulling the wrappings off. The box underneath had several neat holes drilled into the lid. He moved to open the box, but the top burst open before he could touch it. Harry froze, staring at the big puppy eyes looking curiously up at him.

The puppy was all black, a lab perhaps, with expressive eyes and floppy ears. He was calm too, although Harry could clearly hear the puppy's tail banging against the side of the box. He was reminded painfully of Sirius.

After a moment of their staring contest, the puppy cocked his head curiously. Then he barked and started panting, his tail thumping twice as hard against the box.

"Don't you like him, Harry?" Gabrielle asked nervously.

Harry paused, then carefully lifted the puppy out of the box. It licked his face and barked again.

"I love him," Harry said with a brief, but truthful smile, holding the puppy close. "I—this means a lot. Thank you, Gabi. And you, Dom."

Gabi beamed. "Do you have a name for him yet?'

"Gabi, it's only been a couple minutes," Dominique said, rolling her eyes.

Harry hesitated. He looked around at the others. Those who had met Sirius looked understanding and a little sad. The twins actually looked grim, and Remus had his gaze turned away at the ground. Harry couldn't blame them. Sirius's death had hit all of them hard.

Finally, he nodded and scratched behind the puppy's ears. "Sirius," he said, smiling fondly at the puppy. "I'm going to name him Sirius. I think he'd like that."

* * *

Harry wasn't sure he'd been more thankful for anything than that party. He'd desperately needed the time to relax and to forget about everything that was going on. He never once forgot about Draco, of course, he just didn't worry about the blond for a while. For those few hours, he pushed all thoughts of Voldemort, Ron, his allies, and everything else that was bothering him out of his mind. It was a break he didn't even get while sleeping, and he welcomed it with open arms. 

Sirius the puppy was, of course, the life of the party. He bounded about and darted between people's feet, barking and playing with shoelaces and sometimes pressing his front paws against someone's leg if he wanted attention. He seemed particularly fond of Harry and Remus and spent most of the party bothering the two of them.

Though he wasn't trying, Harry managed to avoid Hermione almost the entire time. Eventually, though, Hermione came up to him while he was talking to Oliver and he knew he couldn't avoid her any longer.

"I'm sorry about Ron," Hermione started hesitantly.

"No, you're not," Harry said, crossing his arms. "You're just as upset about all this as he is."

"Well try to see it from our perspective, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "We thought you shared everything with us, then it turns out you kept half your life a secret! Wouldn't you be upset?"

"Of course I'd be upset," Harry said, "but I wouldn't blow up or anything. I'd wonder why, but I'd assume there must have been a pretty good reason for it."

"There's no reason to keep something like this from us," Hermione said adamantly. Harry could tell she had probably been wanting to have this discussion for weeks.

"Think about it, Hermione. If I'd told you I was friends with Draco, _dating_ Draco, what would you have thought?"

"I would have thought you went insane," Hermione said, "or that you were going Dark, or that Malfoy had you under the influence of a spell or love potion. But that's not the point—"

"That is the point! You probably would have gone to Dumbledore or McGonagall too, and then the Order or the Ministry when that didn't work. Eventually, Lucius would have found out and he would have killed Draco, and the Wizarding World wouldn't trust me anymore. Not to mention you and Ron would have left me long before all that."

"You can't have thought of that at the time."

"I thought of most of it. Really, I didn't want to lose you and Ron, but I've also been protecting Draco for years."

"You could have told us about the Serpent Guard, though," Hermione protested. "We could have helped out, like with the DA."

Harry gave her a doubtful look. "How would I explain that? Half the SG was in Slytherin. Draco was in the SG; we founded it together. You'd still think I was going Dark, along with all the people not in Slytherin in the SG."

Hermione was silent for a long time. Finally, she sighed and said, "I still wish you had told us. It feels like we can't trust you anymore—"

"Of course you can—"

"—and that we never really knew you."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through is hair. There was really no good way to say this. "You did, Hermione. You just didn't know everything about me. Just like I'm sure I don't know everything about you."

"Nothing like this, though," Hermione said. "I think your almost getting sorted into Slytherin, your affair with Malfoy, and your secret alliance is a little bigger than what kind of toothpaste I use."

"Okay, you're right, I should have told you everything. Is that what you want to hear?" Harry snapped, getting impatient. "Or that I learned my lesson and I won't do it again?"

"You know, I can't help but wonder if Ron's right. Maybe you are going Dark," Hermione snapped back.

"I'm not going Dark," Harry said coldly. "You've just never seen this side of me. But trust me, this is how I'm most comfortable."

Hermione stared at him for a moment. Finally, she gave him a hard look and walked away. Harry forced himself to find someone to talk to so he wouldn't have to dwell on the feeling that he had just lost another of his closest friends.

* * *

Over the next week, the twins and Madam Pomfrey worked tirelessly to get Draco to a more stable condition. At any moment, day or night, one of them could be found at Draco's side. At first, Harry thought it was ridiculous to have them there all the time. However, after Draco stopped breathing and was only brought back because George had been monitoring him, Harry didn't think it was ridiculous anymore. 

After a couple days, Hermione got dragged into making healing potions for them because Madam Pomfrey had run out and her only other source, Snape, was obviously not available to make more. Until then, Harry had been staying in the same room as Draco, much to Madam Pomfrey's chagrin, but there just wasn't enough room once Hermione set up there and he had to leave.

Harry made sure to check in on Draco at least once a day, but now that he couldn't mope in Draco's room the whole day, the twins had delegated the task of getting ready for the alliance party to him. They had done most of the work, but invitations still needed to be sent out and the area they had chosen needed to be set up. Harry dragged Angelo, Lee, and Gabrielle into helping him, although there wasn't much to do. They really only needed to change the dates on the invitations already made and add several more for people the twins weren't aware of but Harry and Angelo were.

After the invitations were sent out, they had to check out the site the twins had picked (which wasn't far from the Burrow), set up everything that might be needed, and make sure the proper wards were set up so no one that wasn't invited could get in. During those few days, Harry was hardly at number twelve except to sleep, and even then he spent a night or two at Angelo and Kiran's apartment, which was closer.

It was during those few days that Madam Pomfrey decided it would be safe to bring Draco out of his coma and he woke up.

There were only two days left before the alliance meeting, which Harry had decided would have to be held whether Malfoy could go or not. Harry was off with Angelo and a couple others putting together some of the final preparations for the party. Fred and George were helping for a couple hours, so Hermione was alone with Madam Pomfrey as she monitored Malfoy for any signs that he had responded to being taken out of his coma.

Then Madam Pomfrey gasped behind her and Hermione nearly spilled the essence of murtlap she had been about to put in her potion.

"Malfoy, how are you feeling?" Madam Pomfrey asked, sounding positively giddy.

Hermione heard a groan and possibly something about headache. She snorted softly; of course, that was all he could find to complain about.

"I'm sorry dear, you have enough potions in your system as it is," Madam Pomfrey said. "You'll just have to bare it for the time being."

To Hermione's surprise, Malfoy didn't complain again. He wasn't speaking loud enough for her to hear him clearly, but what he said in response didn't sound whiny or Malfoy-ish at all; in fact, it sounded more curious than anything.

"It's the seventh, almost the eighth," Madam Pomfrey said. "You've been unconscious for over a week. We've all been extremely worried about you. Potter especially."

"Where is he?" Malfoy asked, this time loud enough for Hermione to hear. She surreptitiously glanced back; Malfoy had sat up a little in bed, even though he was obviously in pain, and looked desperate. Madam Pomfrey hurriedly pushed him back down.

"Potter is fine. He's preparing for his alliance meeting in a couple days," she said soothingly. "I'm sure he'll come see you once he comes back tonight. He would have hardly left your side if we hadn't forced him."

"That's good," Malfoy said, relaxing. "As long as he's safe."

Madam Pomfrey smiled; clearly, she had been aware of Harry and Malfoy's feelings for each other long before now. "Do you feel up to eating anything? You need to get your strength back up."

Malfoy murmured something, once again too quietly for Hermione to hear.

"That's wonderful. I'll be right back, then. Granger, if you could alert me if anything happens…?"

Hermione nodded as Madam Pomfrey dashed out of the room. She cast a stasis charm over the potion bubbling on the floor and got up, looking over at the bed. Cold grey eyes stared back at her.

"How are you feeling, Malfoy?" she asked. Malfoy's eyes narrowed slightly, as though sensing a trick. He took his time in coming up with a response.

"How would you feel if you were in my position?" he finally murmured, rolling his eyes. "I'm fine, Granger. Thanks for asking."

"What, no 'mudblood'?" she said, unable to help herself. No matter how Harry felt, she could not see herself liking or trusting Draco Malfoy. There was no reason to encourage him to like and trust her.

"Forgive me, where are my manners?" Malfoy sneered. "I'll remember you prefer that title from no on."

Hermione sighed. She just couldn't see what Harry could possibly see in the boy in front of her.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed again. "What do you want, Granger?" Hermione hesitated, but before she could say anything, Malfoy spoke up again, "No, I know what you want. You want to know what my lord and I plan to do with Harry, don't you?"

Hermione's eyes widened and she nearly tripped over her feet to get to the bed. "So Ron and I were right! We can't trust you! You won't get away with it! I'll tell Harry as soon as he gets back!"

"Shut up," Malfoy said softly. She did; he sounded like Snape on a bad day.

"Look Granger, I don't like you," Malfoy said bluntly. "I don't like Weasley. I don't like half of Harry's Gryffindor friends. But I'll deal with you for him as long as you're not thinking things like that—"

"You're a Death Eater!" she exclaimed. "What else are we supposed to think?"

Surprisingly, Malfoy didn't lash out. Instead, he smiled bitterly and looked away at the ceiling.

"Yes, I'm a Death Eater," he whispered.

She wasn't sure to make of that.

"Do you know why I joined the Death Eaters, Granger?"

"Harry said something about it," she said. "He wasn't very clear."

"There were two reasons, really. One was to protect my family, because the Dark Lord would have killed them if I hadn't joined him. But the other…" He let out a bitter laugh. "I foolishly thought I could protect Harry that way. That maybe I could get to the point where I was assigned the task of capturing or killing him, and I could save his life."

Malfoy's eyes slid down to her again and she nearly took a step back from the amount of the emotion shining in them. For the foremost emotion in his eyes was remorse and it clashed with everything she thought she knew about Malfoy.

"I know you don't trust me," he said. "I doubt there's much I could tell you that could make you trust me."

"There's nothing you could tell me that would make me trust you," Hermione said.

He smiled faintly. "There is one thing. But I don't feel like telling you yet. Even Harry doesn't know."

She frowned and crossed her arms. If he thought he was convincing her of anything, he didn't know her well enough.

"How much has Harry told you about us?"

"Not enough for me to trust you."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "That's surprising. That tells me nothing, Granger."

"He's only said that you've been friends since third year and that he loves you," Hermione said tightly. Just when she'd been starting to think Malfoy might have a nice side…

"Hmm, not much, then. And anyone else?"

"Nothing more than that."

Malfoy frowned slightly. "I see." He was silent for another long moment before he looked away again and sighed. "I didn't want to tell you this. I wanted Harry to be the first person to know, besides Severus."

"Know what?" Hermione asked impatiently. So far, Malfoy had hardly given any answers to anything at all.

"I'm going to tell you a story, Granger. You'd best sit down; it's a long one."

Hermione resolutely remained standing. Malfoy rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy who was very special. He came from a high-class family with a dark secret that he embraced. He also loved another boy very much, but that boy wanted nothing to do with him."

Hermione gave him a sceptical look; she hadn't thought he'd actually tell a story.

"Then one day, the boy got a letter from the one he loved. He sent one back, and they became friends. The boy was overjoyed; finally, his love could see him as a real person and not a monster.

"Then the boy discovered something about his friend. The boy's family had mates whom they were destined to spend their lives with, and the boy's friend was his!"

Hermione snorted. "You're kidding. That only happens with—"

"Let me finish my story, Granger!" Malfoy interrupted angrily.

She glared at him but went quiet.

"The boy decided to test it. He cast the Insularis Rite on them. He knew that if his friend was really his mate, he would apologize in time. And he did.

"So the boy got ready to bond with his mate. He started learning skills that would help him protect his mate from harm or heal him if that wasn't possible. He asked his mate on dates, and started a bonding ritual with him. But out of fear, he never once told his mate what it all meant. He was afraid his mate would leave him if he knew.

"Then he got in trouble. He joined the enemies of his friend, his mate, in the hope that it would protect both of them. It didn't work, and he got into even bigger trouble than before. And he knew that now was the time to tell his mate what was going on, but his mate's nosy friend got in the way."

Hermione sent him an annoyed look. "Is this going anywhere Malfoy?"

"You wanted to know why you should trust me. You should trust me because everything I've every done has been for Harry, because I'm part Veela and Harry is my mate."

She was sure he expected her to immediately apologize and say that she trusted him entirely now. She didn't. She didn't believe him.

"You don't have any proof of that," she said, crossing her arms. "You could just be telling me that to get me to trust you."

Malfoy stared at her for a long time, debating something with himself. Finally, he sighed. "What happened to the robes I was wearing?"

"They're over there," Hermione said, pointing to the mass of fabric hanging over the back of a nearby chair.

"There's a vial in one of the pockets. It's a heritage potion. I was going to use it to prove this to Harry, but if you really need proof to believe me, you can use it instead."

Intrigued in spite of herself, Hermione walked over to the chair and dug through the robes. He hand came back with a vial of clear potion.

"You're welcome to take my blood for it, too," Malfoy said.

Nodding, Hermione went and grabbed the silver knife she'd been using to cut up potions ingredients. With a quick_scourgify_, it was clean enough for her to risk using on Malfoy. She walked back over to the bed and uncorked the vial.

"I'm ready any time you are," Malfoy said snidely.

Just for that, Hermione didn't warn him before cutting into his arm. She only applied enough pressure to make a small cut, but the blood still welled up. She quickly placed the vial so it would catch the first drops of blood to drip from the cut.

As soon as Malfoy's blood touched the potion, the liquid tuned a bright, clear blue, the same colour as Fleur Delacour's eyes. Hermione nearly dropped the vial in shock. She actually had learned about this potion; it was one of the seventh year standards. Clear blue meant a Veela heritage. Malfoy hadn't been lying.

Malfoy was part Veela, and Harry was his mate.

She sank to the ground, feeling a little sick. There was no reason now for her not to trust Malfoy. Malfoy would never hurt Harry willingly; as a Veela, he would kill himself first. But after so many years of hating and not trusting Malfoy, she wasn't sure she could change her first reactions so quickly.

"I love Harry. I would rather die than let anything happen to him. I nearly did," Malfoy said quietly. She looked up to see that he wasn't looking at her at all but rather the ceiling again.

"I can't just stop hating you," Hermione said.

"I know. I'm not asking you too. _I_ couldn't care less whether you like me or not. That smells horrible, Madam Pomfrey."

Hermione started and looked over to see Madam Pomfrey busting into the room carrying a bowl of some kind of soup. Malfoy was right; it smelled awful, like old shoes. She was glad he was the one that would be drinking it and not her.

"And you're going to drink it anyway, Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said with a slight chuckle, setting it on the table beside the bed. She carefully helped him sit up and handed him the bowl. He made a face but started sipping the broth anyway.

"Is that potion nearly done, Granger?" Madam Pomfrey asked once she was satisfied that Malfoy could tolerate eating.

Hermione ignored Malfoy's startled look as he realized who must have been making all his healing potions. She smiled at both of them and waved her wand to take the potion out of stasis. "Almost, Madam Pomfrey. It'll only be a couple more minutes."

* * *

**It's AN time!**

So, a lot of people have had really great ideas about what's going to happen in my fics. I've also posted this on another site, and everyone there loves analyzing it, and I really love being able to interact with them. Therefore, I've created a forum for discussion of my fics! You can find it on my profile. There's also a poll on my profile that I would appreciate everyone doing (although you don't have to). I'll see you all there!

Also, I know _I_'ve been getting a little confused about who's who and who they know and what they're about. I wouldn't doubt that a lot of you guys have been too (but if you haven't, kudos for you). Therefore, I've started putting together a lexicon type thing for all the Background Secrets circle of HP fics. Also included in it will be a few "deleted" scenes from the fics. That'll be up in a few minutes so sit tight and watch for it!

I relly am glad that you guys love my writing so much. Thanks for sticking around even though I don't post very regularly!


	6. Ch 5: A Letter to the Prophet

**Red Sun Rising**

**Chapter V: A Letter to the Prophet**

Harry slumped into one of the chairs in the drawing room, utterly exhausted. The twins had taken him to the Ministry, demanding that he take the Apparition test before he got in trouble for Apparating so much without a license. Harry was sure there was another reason behind it, possibly that Ron wasn't with them and therefore still wouldn't have a licence, but he had been eager to take the test so he hadn't balked much.

He'd passed the test with flying colours, which was no surprise since he'd been successfully, though illegally, Apparating for several months now. Still, having to Apparate somewhere with only a description and not an actual knowledge of a place was exhausting. He was glad they had taken him at the end of the day. He wasn't sure if he could have brought himself to help finish decorating if they had gone in the morning.

So now he was looking forward to relaxing for the rest of the night, maybe going to bed early. But before he had a chance to settle at all, George poked his head into the room, gesturing excitedly.

"Harry, you have to see this!"

Harry sat up slightly, blinking at him. "What is it?"

George shook his head. "You have to see it for yourself. Come on!"

George disappeared from the doorway. Harry could clearly hear him running upstairs. Curious, he got up and followed, his exhaustion all but forgotten.

He caught up and saw George turn into Draco's room. That only made him move faster. Why would George want him to come to Draco's room unless…?

He froze in the doorway, staring at the bed in shock. Madam Pomfrey bustled about the bed as usual, and Fred, George, and Hermione stood at the head of the bed, chatting amiably with Draco.

Who was sitting up in bed.

Who was responding as attentively as Harry had ever seen him.

Who gave a heart-breaking smile when he saw Harry standing in the doorway.

"What are you waiting for, scar-head?" Draco asked, deliberately sneering but unable to keep a smile from his eyes. "I can't come to you, you know."

"Draco..."

He didn't notice he'd moved until he was in Draco's arms, holding him as close as he dared. He didn't notice he was shaking until Draco started hugging him back and murmuring in his ear. It was too good to be true. It was a dream. He would open his eyes and find himself in the chair downstairs with Draco still unconscious.

But finally, Draco gently pushed him away, as though to reassure him that he was actually there and wouldn't disappear.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. "Ow! What was that for?" he exclaimed a moment later, rubbing at his shoulder.

Harry drew his hand back. "You're such a prat! Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Merlin, Draco, I thought you were going to _die!_ You almost _did_ die! What the _hell_ did you—"

He let out a muffled exclamation of surprise when Draco suddenly leaned forward and kissed him hard. Somewhere in the background, he thought he heard Hermione make a noise, but Draco's lips on his own were far too distracting. After being terrified near to insanity that Draco's condition would relapse or that he'd never wake, he was eager for any signs of life from the blond.

But again, Draco gently pushed him away far too soon. He was panting a little and his bluish eyes were glazed over with pleasure. Madam Pomfrey made to move forward, but Draco shook his head to keep her back.

"I will never leave you," Draco murmured, only loud enough for Harry to hear. "If I have to claw my way out of hell to stay with you, I will."

Harry blushed very faintly, but his shock that Draco would be all right kept most of his embarrassment away. "You'd better not get into a position where that's even a possibility," Harry murmured, unable to sound as annoyed as he would have liked. "I'd claw my way into hell first just to get you out."

Rather than looking embarrassed by this, Draco looked ferally pleased.

"Is anyone else here?" Draco asked, glancing at around the room over Harry's shoulder.

Harry nodded, hearing someone hurry out of the room behind him. "Dom, Angelo, and Kiran are here, and Aaron's been looking in every couple days."

Draco nodded. "Good. They should hear what I have to tell you too."

"What—"

"Draco!"

Draco smiled and reached out to greet Angelo. The Vampire rushed forward to grasp and kiss the blond's outstretched wrist. Kiran and Dominique followed much more sedately, pausing behind Angelo. Angelo opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, Draco's eyes lighted on the babe in Dominique's arms and he had attention for nothing else.

"Ah, so that's Michelle," he said with a fond smile. "She's as gorgeous as Cassius said. Of course, she inherited none of his looks, only yours."

"You're as flattering as your fiancé," Dom said with a smile. She stepped forward so Draco could see her better. Michelle blinked curiously down at him.

"May I hold her?" Draco asked. Dominique glanced questioningly at Madam Pomfrey, who nodded her consent with the greatest reluctance. Draco accepted Michelle into his arms with a smile brighter than Harry had seen in over a year.

"I regret that she will grow up without a father," Draco said softly, only laughing softly when Michelle reached up to grab his nose. "But she will have two wonderful mothers who I'm sure will spoil her horribly, so it's not such a great loss."

"It's no loss at all," Dominique said quietly.

"What happened, Draco?" Angelo asked before Draco could comment. "Harry said Voldemort has been torturing you, and Dominique said that Cassius is likely dead."

"He probably is, I don't know." Draco carefully handed Michelle back to her mother. "Obviously, I didn't stick around to find out."

"Why would you know what happened to Warrington?" Harry asked curiously.

"Cassius was the Death Eater assigned to guard me."

Harry nodded slowly. He didn't doubt that Warrington had been either killed or driven insane. Voldemort didn't take well to failure.

"How'd you get out?" George asked.

"Not easily, let me tell you," Draco said with a laugh. He sobered a moment later and added, "Severus helped me get out."

"Snape?" Fred this time, and he look furious at the name. George, Hermione, and Madam Pomfrey all seemed to share his sentiments. Harry couldn't blame them. They hadn't been around to hear Draco proclaim that Snape was going to help him out. He was just surprised the git had actually gone through with that supposed promise.

Draco frowned at them. "Yes, Snape. He isn't bad, you know. He's a Slytherin."

"He killed Dumbledore!" George exclaimed, staring at him incredulously.

"Yes, he killed Dumbledore. Do you think he wanted to do it?"

"If he didn't want to, he wouldn't have done it," Hermione snapped. It seemed all her short amity toward Draco had gone as soon as Snape's name had been mentioned.

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. "You wouldn't understand. None of you are Slytherin."

"Harry's a Slytherin. I doubt he understands," Fred said.

Harry scowled at the red-head, annoyed that he'd been brought into the argument, but he couldn't do much about it now. "Actually, I do understand, because I know all the facts, but this has nothing to do with how Draco escaped Voldemort."

"Harry's right," Draco said before anyone else could say anything. "Can I keep going, or do we have to argue this inane point?"

"Keep going, Draco," Kiran said, leaving no room for argument.

Draco nodded and opened his mouth again.

"_Stupefy!"_

_Draco looked up at the familiar voice, hissing in pain as the movement stretched his healing wounds. He'd been so worried that Severus had forgotten, that he wouldn't be rescued in time. He was already in constant pain from being away from Harry for so long. With his added injuries, he was sure he would die in a few days if he didn't escape._

_Severus's face appeared on the other side of the bars. Draco gaped as the tip of a wand appeared and waved silently at the heavy iron doors. Where had Severus gotten an invisibility cloak?_

_The man didn't give him a chance to figure it out as the door swung open. Severus swept into the cell and carefully helped Draco to his feet._

"_Can you walk?"_

"_I can try," Draco murmured. He took a tentative step. His leg shook violently, but after a moment, he wasn't afraid that he would collapse. He nodded up at Severus and took another step._

_Severus pulled off the invisibility cloak and wrapped it around Draco's shoulders. "The path to the house-elves' door is clear. This will not be unnoticed. The Dark Lord will send others to investigate. I will hold them off."_

"_They'll kill you," Draco said, horrified that Severus wasn't going to come with him. "Or the Dark Lord will."_

"_Do not worry about me. Get yourself out." A door banged open somewhere down the hall. Severus pushed him roughly forward. "Go, now!"_

_Draco hesitated a moment before his own survival instincts kicked in and he dashed down the hall. He didn't notice whether the invisibility cloak covered his feet or turn back to see how Severus was doing. His legs were shaking so much he was afraid that if he stopped, he'd collapse and wouldn't be able to move again._

"_FOOLS!" hissed a voice from far behind him. His blood nearly froze; the Dark Lord had come himself. _

"_Leave Snape! Leave him! The boy is what's important! Do not let him escape!" the Dark Lord shouted. Then he hissed something Draco was sure was Parseltongue and he nearly tripped over his feet. The Death Eaters he could deal with, and easily if he so chose at this point. He was terrified of Nagini._

_But he didn't hear feet chase after him immediately. Severus had to have still been holding off the Death Eaters as best he could. He couldn't imagine how his teacher would hold off the Dark Lord, but he was thankful for every second he got._

_He ducked into the kitchens and raced for the door outside. In some ways he was thankful that the Dark Lord had chosen to take Malfoy Manor has his temporary base, one being that he knew every way out of the mansion. The house-elves could not Apparate off the property, so they had their own door outside for when they needed to go shopping for supplies. Draco had seen it when Lucius had taken him on a full tour of the mansion, revealing all its secrets in preparation of his coming-of-age._

_He slowed once the door was in sight, looking around cautiously. He had expected a Death Eater or Nagini to show up before now. That they had not only put him more on guard._

_He saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and sent a Body-Bind flying at whatever it was._

_A huge snake flew out of the shadows at him. He barely had time to raise a shield so she wouldn't hit him. Nagini hit the shield and fell to the floor, hissing madly._

"Diffindo!"_ Draco shouted, flicking his wand at the snake. Nagini hissed and slithered out of the way faster than Draco had thought possible. Frantically, he waved his hand and brought up a Shield charm all around him, so the snake wouldn't be able to get past it._

"Sectumsempra!"_ Draco said, flicking his wand again. But again, Nagini only dodged the bolt of light. She started circling him, trying to find a way in. Probably to eat him, Draco thought. That would be something the Dark Lord would order his pet to do._

_Shouts bounced down the hall outside the kitchen. Draco flicked his wand at the snake again, panicking._

"Evanesco!_ Die you stupid snake! I need to get to Harry! _Incendio!_ What it is going to take to kill you?"_

_Nagini only hissed mockingly at him and the voices got closer._

_Draco wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. The energy needed to keep up a constant shield wandlessly was taking a huge toll on him. His legs were shaking uncontrollably, and more than once he had to reach out for the wall to keep himself up. But the moment he let it go, Nagini would kill him._

_The door to the kitchen banged open. Draco sent a Stunner at the man without pausing to think. But now the Death Eaters knew where he was. He had run out of time._

"I can't do this anymore, Draco. I need to be able to trust you; I need to know that you're still there, and you're not."

_That was right; Harry didn't trust him. He was worried about Draco, but he probably still wasn't sure whether he could trust Draco or not. After all, when they had talked a month before, he hadn't offered to take the ring back._

"_I'm still here, Harry," Draco whispered. "I promised to come back, and I will."_

_Another Death Eater rushed into the room. Draco Stunned him and looked back at Nagini. He would only have one chance to do this. If he failed, he didn't deserve to go back to Harry anyway._

_His hand dropped to his side, taking the Shield Charm with it. Nagini coiled up and sprung up at him. __He raised his wand, focusing on Harry and why he had to do this._

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

_In the air, Nagini couldn't move to get out of the way. The sickly green bolt hit her straight on. Draco ducked out of the way as her momentum carried her across the room. She hit the ground, not with a thud, but with a __horrible screech that had him clutching at his ears. Something like smoke rose out of the snake and dissipated into the air, taking the screech with it. Then Nagini was still._

_Draco stared at the snake in horror, almost regretting now that he had killed her. Only shouts from the hallway stirred him from his trance. He ran to the house elves' door, pulled it open, and ran off into the night._

"By the time I reached the edge of the Manor's wards, I was almost too exhausted to keep going," Draco finished. "I was barely able to Apparate. But I wasn't going to go through all that just to get caught. I Apparated to a park in Harry's neighbourhood and walked to his house from there."

He fell silent. No one moved for a long minute. Finally, Harry whispered cautiously, as though afraid to believe it, "You killed Nagini?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what I just told you?"

"And you're sure she was dead?" Hermione asked in the same tone as Harry.

"I didn't stick around to find out, but I'm pretty sure that's what the Killing Curse does," Draco said, sneering this time. "Please, tell me now if I'm mistaken."

Harry couldn't find it in himself to be the least bit offended by Draco's attitude, nor did he think Hermione could. Nagini was dead! A Horcrux had been destroyed with so little effort it made Harry want to cry in relief. Not only that, but it was the one Horcrux he had been worried the most about, because Voldemort rarely let Nagini out of his sight.

And Draco had no idea of what he had done. He thought that perhaps he'd angered Voldemort with that little gesture, or just destroyed the snake. He had no clue that he had just helped ensure Voldemort's ultimate defeat.

Draco was starting to gain an annoyed look on his face from the silence. "What is it?"

Harry only shook his head with a stupid grin. "God, Draco...You have no idea...That's the best thing I've heard in over a year."

Far from looking relieved, Draco only seemed more annoyed. "And I have the feeling you're not going to tell me why that was so great."

Harry's grin faded. "I can't yet," he said, shaking his head again. "I want to, but...we'll see. I may be able to tell you eventually."

Draco eyes narrowed at him. "This had better not be another case of you picking Dumbledore over me."

"It's not. Well, Dumbledore did tell me not to tell anyone but Ron and Hermione—but that's not it!" he added hastily at Draco's look. "I'm choosing not to tell you, not because Dumbledore said not to, but so you're not in danger again."

"I escaped from the Dark Lord, killed his snake, and came to you," Draco said. "I'm pretty sure I'll always be in danger."

"I know," Harry answered. "And I'll only try to keep you out of it while you're injured."

* * *

_Dear Daily Prophet and readers,_

_Fred and George Weasley here, __owners of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade (coming soon!)._

_As you may know, recently Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and Chosen One and all that, was accused of being Dark for associating with vampires. Well, he was associating with vampires, we can tell you that much (I was there! –Fred)__, but there's much more to the story than that. You want to know it?_

_Well, we can't tell it here, can we?_

_But we'll tell you where you can hear the full story. Tomorrow, August 9__th__, Harry and his alliance are holding a coming-of-age style event to celebrate his 17__th__ birthday. He will also officially announce the details of the alliance and what we plan to do to combat the Dark Lord. Anyone who wants to come is welcome. If we decide we don't want you there, we won't have any problem in kicking you out._

_And if Harry isn't enough incentive to come, the guest list also includes heartthrob singer Lorcan d'Eath, who will be giving a private concert as part of the entertainment, and the Puddlemere United and Bulgarian National Quidditch teams. Also, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes will be handing out door prizes and free merchandise throughout the day._

_We'll be holding the event near Ottery St. Catchpole, two hills over from the village. It'll start at noon and continue until dawn Sunday (for the vampire guests)._

_See you there!_

_Fred and George Weasley_

_Owners of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes_

"It's brilliant," Draco said, handing the paper off to Kiran.

"It's horrible," Hermione said immediately after. She'd been reading the paper over his shoulder.

"It is perfect, isn't it?" Fred said, sharing a grin with his brother.

As soon as the paper had been delivered that morning, the twins had ordered everyone in the house to gather and read it. Of course, Michelle had chosen that moment to notice the house elf heads still hanging on the walls, so Angelo and Dominique were off calming her down. The rest of them had gathered in Draco's room to take turns reading the paper.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "It's brilliant. It says exactly what's needed. You just don't understand."

"Don't understand? They practically admitted everyone's right and Harry _is_ going Dark! What's not to understand?"

"I didn't think it said that," Harry said, trying to head of the argument before it really started. While Hermione had miraculously started acting nicer towards Draco, the two of them still got at each other's throats when they could.

"This is definitely what we needed," Kiran said as he finished reading. He handed the paper off the Gabrielle and eyed the twins with something akin to surprise. "You two actually did something right for once."

George rolled his eyes. "Glad you think so."

"Half of Britain will show up tomorrow." Draco smiled dreamily at Harry. "We'll be able to tell them everything, and we'll gain more people than Voldemort could ever dream."

"'We'll'?" Madam Pomfrey spoke up, crossing her arms. "You're not going anywhere tomorrow, Malfoy."

Only because of his past breeding could Draco keep himself from gaping at her. "What do you mean I'm not going anywhere tomorrow?"

"You only woke up yesterday, Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said, "after a week of being unconscious, I might add. I won't allow you out of that bed, much less across the island."

Draco frowned and narrowed his eyes. "I need to be there to support Harry, Madam. The Serpent Guard is ours together."

"I'm sure you'll have the chance to do that some other time, when you aren't gravely injured."

Draco turned to Harry, who had been desperately wishing Draco had forgotten he was there. "Well? Don't you want me to be there tomorrow?"

"Of course I do," Harry said. Draco flashed a triumphant grin at Madam Pomfrey. "But," Harry continued, "I want you to get better more."

Draco scowled at him and opened his mouth to say something, but the doorbell cut him off. Mrs Black's portrait started screaming a second later.

"I'll get it," Kiran said, standing up, just as Angelo ran by the door. "Or Angelo will..." he said, frowning faintly at the doorway.

The screaming downstairs stopped. They heard the door open and the murmur of excited voices. The twins grinned as the voices came close enough to be heard while Kiran scowled at the doorway. Finally, Angelo walked into the room, followed by Lorcan d'Eath and a girl in torn Muggle punk clothes.

Lorcan grinned as he looked around the room and spotted Harry, Hermione, and the twins. "Hey, fancy seeing you guys here." His eyes landed on Draco and he raised a hand to wave at him. "You're Draco Malfoy right? Harry was pretty damned worried about you last time we met."

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked. "The party's not until tomorrow."

"I gotta get ready for it, yeah?" Lorcan said, shrugging. "The Weasley's said we could camp out here and go with you tomorrow, thought you wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, that's fine, I was just surprised."

"We'll help you find rooms," the twins offered. The girl smiled and held out her arm for Fred to take so he could lead her from the room. George and Lorcan followed shortly after.

Draco turned wide-eyed to Harry. "Was that _Lorcan d'Eath_? And did he know my name?"

"Yes, and yes," Harry said, amused. When it was someone else that was being gawked over, especially someone who probably enjoyed it, it was rather amusing. "And before you ask, yes, he's my ally. He helped save my life a few weeks ago."

He only just noticed Kiran shift uncomfortably out of the corner of his eye. No doubt the blond knew what day that had been and had remembered that he had been unable to do anything to help them. Harry made a note to remember to ask him about that.

"Is there anyone else we know is coming early?" Harry asked.

"Mr Adfaer sent an owl last night saying he would be," Remus said. His eyes were now constantly flicking toward the door. Harry felt sorry for him; he couldn't have been comfortable with another vampire in the house.

"My mother may be coming today," Angelo said with a slight shrug. "She has not decided whether she wants to come at all yet, though she wishes to meet you. Oh, and," he added, wrinkling his nose in distaste, "Aether plans to arrive shortly, though I told him it was unnecessary."

"A few of my family are thinking of coming early too," Kiran said, shifting uncomfortably, "to decide whether they want to attend the party."

"Bill, Charlie, and Phlegm are thinking about arriving today too," George said, walking back into the room. "And Lorcan said Sanguini and a couple friends of his plan to arrive today too."

Harry frowned slightly. "I don't think we're going to have enough room for that many people."

George shrugged. "I'm sure the Blacks thought of that. This house'll probably create more rooms as they're needed."

The doorbell rang again. Harry sighed.

"I guess I should go answer the door this time."

"I'll come with you," Draco said, even moving to get up. He didn't get far though; before Madam Pomfrey could make a move to push him back down, he winced and lay back down on his own.

"You're going to stay here," Harry admonished. He stood and made his way toward the door. "I'll tell everyone to stop by here to meet you, okay?"

Draco said nothing. Harry was sure the blond was glaring at his back. It didn't unsettle him as much as he thought it should.

"I will come with you," Angelo said. Harry nodded, though he was sure he felt Draco's glare move from his back to the vampire's.

He didn't want to leave Draco exactly; he would have loved to have Draco by his side as he greeted his guests both now and the next day. Draco was as important to the Serpent Guard as he himself was, and far more important to Harry than anyone else who might be there.

And being so important, he had to get better. So while Harry felt a little guilty that he was leaving Draco behind, he would have felt more guilty if Draco's condition got worse because he was pushing himself when he shouldn't be.

Mrs Black stopped screaming as he and Angelo stepped into the entrance hall. She seemed to like Angelo for some reason, and therefore liked Harry as well by association. Harry didn't understand it—he'd thought she would hate Angelo for being a vampire—but he certainly wasn't complaining if it shut her up.

Angelo stepped foreword and pulled open the door, standing so that he blocked Harry from view. It didn't last long, however. Almost as soon as he opened the door, he let out a soft sound of delight and took a step out to embrace the person standing there. Then he stepped back again and opened the door wide.

Harry gasped. Standing on the threshold was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Compared to her, Angelo looked horribly human and normal, though one could tell they were related. They had the same black hair, though hers was long and seemed weightless. Instead of hazel, her eyes were a deep blue as clear as the sea. They lit up as she smiled at him and gave a small curtsy.

"Harry Potter, I presume?" she said in a soft voice. Something about it seemed off, though Harry could hardly think to figure out what it was.

"Yes, that's me..."

"I have heard so much about you from my darling." She smiled briefly at Angelo. "I am Helen Haemon, Angelo's mother."

That surprised him. The woman looked young enough to be Angelo's sister.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Haemon," Harry said, awkwardly giving her a small bow. It seemed to be the right thing to do; her smile widened slightly.

"You may call me Helen, Harry," she said, shaking her head. "I hope we shall get to know each other very well in the upcoming months."

"As do I."

Harry almost flinched at the voice and turned his head toward its owner with trepidation. Aether smiled silkily back at him from behind Helen.

"Hello, Harry. I'm sure Haemon told you I would be arriving this morning?"

"He mentioned it, yes," Harry said.

Aether smiled and held out a hand to Harry. Harry kept his arms at his sides. The Elvin retracted his hand with a frown.

"May we come in, Harry?" Helen asked softly. "I know that I, personally, had a long journey and must rest a minute."

"Yeah, sure, make yourselves at home." Harry stepped aside to give them room to walk in. To his surprise, Aether seemed to have forgotten about him; as they walked in, the Elvin leaned down to whisper into Helen's ear. She smiled and whispered back. Harry shuddered; the two of them together was not a pleasant idea.

Angelo seemed to feel the same way. "I had hoped my mother had better taste than that..." he muttered, walking back inside after them.

* * *

The doorbell rang. Mrs Black started screaming louder than usual.

"Does that happen often, Harry?" Constantine asked, wincing and putting his hands over his ears. He had arrived about an hour before with the elder Weasley brothers.

"Any time the doorbell rings." Harry sighed and put down the program he'd been looking over. "I need to put a sign up to keep people from pushing it. Any idea who that is?"

When no one in the room responded, he sighed again and got up to answer the door. "This is too much work. We should just call the whole thing off."

"I think Draco would be quite upset," Angelo said, getting up to go with him.

"He'd get over it. He's not physically going, after all."

Mrs Black seemed to scream louder the closer they got to the front door. Frowning, in pain and annoyance, Harry reached out and pulled it open. Immediately, Mrs Black stopped screaming, though Harry heard a small whimper come out of her.

A man and a woman stood on the front step. They could only be Kiran's relatives; both had shining gold hair and gold eyes like his. They also shared Kiran's preference for white and light coloured clothing. And Harry could easily see where Kiran temperament came from.

The man scanned over both of them, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Angelo. The vampire only crossed his arms and glared back, clearly not intimidated. The man snorted and turned back to Harry.

"You're Harry Potter?"

"Yes." Harry bristled when the man's eyes narrowed again. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm Raphael Erebos. I was under the impression I could meet you before your—" the man paused as though he couldn't stand to say the rest— "alliance party. To decide whether you're worth helping or not."

"If you want to. Would you like to come inside?" He moved so he wasn't standing in the way if Raphael did want that. Harry had the feeling he didn't.

"Perhaps if my son is here. I would like to speak with him."

"I'll get him," Angelo offered. He left before Harry could protest. Maybe he was more uncomfortable around Kiran's family than it had seemed. Harry didn't blame him. Kiran's father was intimidating without saying a word, and the girl next to him was almost as bad. They reminded Harry of Kiran back when Kiran still hated him.

Raphael's eyes suddenly shifted to look past Harry's shoulder. The girl's eyes narrowed. Kiran stopped next to Harry, his own expression stony.

"Good afternoon, father, sister. You wished to see me?"

Neither of them had time to react. Raphael's arm shot out to slap Kiran across the face.

"Impudent brat," Raphael hissed. "I see that vampire's manners have rubbed off on you. You will use the proper greetings with me and the proper language."

"I refuse to use either around those who are unaware of them," Kiran responded, clenching his fists, "especially when they obviously will not be returned."

Raphael raised his hand again, but Harry stepped between them.

"I'm sorry, Mr Erebos, but I don't tolerate violence between alliance members," Harry said coldly. "You're welcome to come inside to hear the details of the alliance, because I'm going to have to ask you to leave if all you came for was to abuse your son."

Raphael scowled and dropped his arm. For a moment, it looked as though he actually were going to leave. Even Kiran's sister turned slightly to get ready for it. But after a long moment, Raphael scowled again and nodded.

"I will hear the details of your alliance," he said, spiting out the words like they were painful to say. "My hatred of Voldemort outstrips my dislike of you."

Harry didn't trust himself to say anything. Instead he gestured for them to follow before heading back inside. Kiran passed him on the way and practically dashed up the stairs to the second floor; Angelo wasn't far behind him. He could hear Raphael and Kiran's sister follow him into the sitting room, and Hermione's sharp intake of breath when she saw them. He hoped he could get through explaining everything without trying to kill them. Kiran's attitude made a lot more sense now.

"Make yourselves at home," he said, sitting in his own chair. "Where do you want me to begin?"


End file.
